E.J.  BREHAUT 
B  OSTONIANA  COLLECTION 


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A 


FORTY  TEARS’  FIGHT 

WITH  THE 

DRINK  DEMON, 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORM  AS 
I  HAVE  SEEN  IT, 

AND  OF 


MY  LABOR  IN  CONNECTION  THEREWITH. 


BY 

CHARLES  JEWETT,  M.  D. 


NEW  YORK: 

NATIONAL  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY  AND  PUBLISHING  HOUSE, 

58  Reade  Street. 

1872. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 
CHARLES  JEWETT,  M.  D., 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PREFACE. 


• - «* - 

Had  the  temperance  enterprise,  commenced  substantially  in  1826, 
received  from  the  American  people  a  support,  financial  and  other¬ 
wise,  commensurate  with  its  importance,  and  been  prosecuted  on 
the  plan  adopted  by  its  originators,  the  promise  which  its  early  and 
wonderful  successes  gave  of  a  speedy  triumph  would  have  been 
realized,  and  this  volume  would  not  have  been  given  to  the  public, 
but  in  place  thereof,  its  author,  or  some  fellow-laborer,  would  have 
published,  ere  this,  a  more  ample  and  worthy  history  of  one  of  the 
grandest  achievements  of  this  nineteenth  century. 

The  consummation  of  this  great  and  needful  work  has  been  pre¬ 
vented  by  a  concurrence  of  causes  not  generally  understood,  because 
not  carefully  studied ;  the  study,  unlike  most  others,  bringing  no 
present  and  promising  no  future  pecuniary  reward. 

First  among  the  causes  referred  to,  I  must  place  the  strange  and 
deplorable  mistakes  of  our  American  churches,  in  the  aggregate, 
which,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions,  have  busied  themselves  with 
matters  having  generally  a  far  less  direct  bearing  on  their  own  or 
the  world’s  welfare,  rather  than  in  worthy  and  direct  efforts  to  crush 
their  own  worst  enemy,  whose  wounded  and  reeling  victims  meet  us 
in  our  streets  as  we  walk  to  our  houses  of  worship — and,  worse  still, 
whose  marked  and  doomed  ones  often  look  up  from  the  cushioned 
pews  of  magnificent  churches,  into  the  faces  of  our  Christian  teach¬ 
ers  while  they  are  eloquently  urging  us  to  put  forth  efforts  for  the 


PREFACE. 


IV 

salvation  of  men  in  Burmah  or  Hindostan.  But  something  worse 
than  mistakes  have  hindered  the  progress  of  the  cause. 

The  too  general  and  criminal  indifference  of  our  best  educated 
and  influential  classes  to  the  just  claims  of  the  temperance  enter¬ 
prise,  in  years  that  have  past,  has  permitted  it  to  form  unnatural 
associations,  to  take  questionable  forms,  and  its  honest  and  earnest 
friends  sometimes  to  mistake  and  adopt  harmful  expedients ;  and 
now,  when  we  appeal  for  aid  to  those  classes,  they  point  us  to  our 
past  mistakes  andsthe  imperfection  of  our  present  arrangements,  as 
a  justification  of  their  continued  neglect.  As  one  of  the  many  de¬ 
plorable  results  of  such  a  course,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
ofthe  classes  complained  of,  will  pay  the  penalty  of  their  folly  in 
the  ruin'ofHheir  sons. 

When  and  how  have  occurred  the  mistakes  I  deplore,  the  reader 
will  learn  by  the  perusal  of  the  following  chapters.  It  is  not  too 
late  to  correct  the  errors  of  the  past.  Ten  years,  perhaps  less, 
of  wisely  directed,  properly  sustained,  and  persistent  effort,  on  the 
part  of  the  aggregate  Christianity  of  this  country,  would  be  ample 
to  complete  the  grandest  work  ever  committed  to  any  generation 
since  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  general  and  thorough  education  of  all  our  teachable  people 
in  relation  to  the  nature  and  use  of  intoxicating  elements — the  en¬ 
tire  abolition  of  the  drinking  usages  of  society  and  what  would  in¬ 
evitably  and  directly  follow,  the  suppression  by  law  of  the  traffic  in 
those  substances,  as  thoroughly  as  other  crimes  against  society  are 
suppressed,  would  be  fraught  with  more  blessings  to  our  country 
than  any  or  all  those  products  of  inventive  genius  and  mechanical 
skill  which  have  distinguished  the  present  century,  splendid  and 
beneficent  as  they  are. 

We  have  some  reasons  to  fear  that  a  stern  and  general  grapple 
with  the  great  scourge  of  modern  civilization  calls  for  a  larger 
measure  of  courage,  self-denial,  and  consecration  to  God  and  the 


PREFACE. 


V 


best  interests  of  man,  than  the  present  generation  seems  likely  to 
furnish.  If  so,  the  work  of  demoralization  and  ruin  wrought  always 
by  the  general  use  of  intoxicants,  will  go  on  for  the  present,  and 
the  triumph  of  the  temperance  enterprise  will  be  reserved  for  a 
wiser,  more  self-denying,  and  courageous  generation. 

It  was  no  part  of  my  purpose  in  the  production  of  this  work,  to 
give  a  general  history  of  the  temperance  reform  in  this  country,  or 
to  assign  to  all  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  connection 
with  it  their  just  meed  of  praise  for  the  good  work  they  have  done. 

The  time  has  not  arrived  when  such  a  work  could  be  written  with 
justice  to  all  parties  concerned  or  profit  to  the  great  interests  in¬ 
volved.  Various  expedients  are  now  employed  to  secure  increased 
attention  to  our  views  and  measures,  and  to  hasten  the  downfall  of 
the  liquor  system,  the  value  of  which  time  alone  can  determine ; 
and  many  of  the  present  and  active  promoters  of  the  temperance 
reform  will  never  be  rightly  estimated,  until  the  work  in  which  they 
are  engaged  be  completed,  or  their  mission  on  earth  ‘shall  be  ended. 

The  undersigned  is  fully  sensible  that  the  facts  of  his  personal 
history  Avould  be  scarcely  worth  recording  but  for  his  intimate  and 
almost  life-long  connection  with  one  of  the  great  reform  movements 
of  the  age.  The  expressed  belief  of  many  friends  that  such  a  his¬ 
tory  might  interest  and  perhaps  instruct  my  fellow-laborers,  has  led 
to  the  production  of  this  volume.  If  its  publication  shall  justify 
the  expectations  of  my  co-laborers  and  contribute,  in  any  measure, 
to  the  advancement  of  the  cause,  I  shall  never  regret  its  publica¬ 
tion,  however  it  shall  be  regarded  by  those  who  look  on  our  efforts 
only  to  criticise  them. 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  I  do  not  deprecate  criticism,  but 
the  personal  indolence  and  selfishness  of  those  who  make  fault-find¬ 
ing  their  only  contribution  to  a  struggling  enterprise.  Reformatory 
movements  are  aggressive  always,  and  those  who  labor  in  and  for 
them  are  constantly  attacking  the  opinions,  customs,  and  habits  of 


VI 


PREFACE. 


others  which  they  seek  to  change.  They  have  therefore  no  right  to 
complain  of  sharp  criticism  in  return.  For  one,  I  ask  no  personal 
favors,  as  I  never  grant  any  where  loyalty  to  the  truth  and  the  in¬ 
terests  of  humanity  forbid. 


The  Author. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Incentives  to  the  Battle — A  sad  state  of  things — A  little  Light — 
Set  on — Considering  the  matter — The  Whipping  Post — The  first 
Blow — Signing  the  pledge — Bev.  Dr.  Hewitt — The  Fathers — 
Missionary  work  with  Pills — William  Goodell — A  blow  from  El¬ 
der  Meech — My  first  Speech — What  came  of  it — Pure  Gold.  13 

CHAPTER  H. 

Organization — A  Commissary  Department  wanting — Little  Money, 
but  Rich — Ben  Johnson  cures  the  Doctor — Cider  Experience — 
Out  of  the  Scrape — Rhymes  and  Retailers — Still  Rhyming — Ar- 
gumentum  ad  Hominem — The  Winding  Sheet — They  Dislike  but 
Patronize  him . 29 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  Visitor — Thomas  P.  Hunt — His  Speech  at  Aponaug — “An  excel 
lent  sentiment,  madam” — Facing  the  question — Yes  or  No? — He 
loves  but  votes  against  it — A  victory  for  Rum — An  “  Open 
House” — A  song  furnished  gratis . 41 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  CONTROVERSY. 

A  “  Plucky”  Wholesaler — Retreating,  he  gets  “  a  shell” — A  Retailer 
hit — Rinsing  the  glasses — Providence  Votes  down  the  Traffic — 
A  laughable  incident — The  way  to  do  it — A  shot  that  hit — En¬ 
listing  a  Sharp  Shooter — He  hits  the  “  bull’s  eye” — “  Crack  up” — 
Shoot,  but  don’t  hurt  folks — “Father  Bonney’s  Prayer — First 

extemporaneous  Speech . 48 

(vii) 


CONTENTS. 


Till 


CHAPTER  Y. 

A  COWARDLY  ATTACK. 

“  Smith’s  hat” — Giving  up  the  lancet — My  co-workers — A  sick  wife 
— Trouble — A  visit  to  Boston — Dreaming  in  Rhyme — Laugh  and 
be  fat — Encouraging  progress — Doubt  and  uncertainty — A  Wife’s 
Counsel — A  timely  suggestion — Seventy  Dollars  !  .  .  65 

CHAPTER  VI. 

INVITED  TO  A  WIDER  FIELD. 

Packing  up — “Cast  down  but  not  destroyed  ” — A  dialogue — Was 
it  brotherly  or  wise  ? — A  Christian  hero — A  Clergyman  and  three 
Churches — The  poor-house  preacher — “  If  I  had  let  rum  alone” — 
Rum  and  horrors — We  “went  for”  the  buckwheat  cakes — Crane’s 
store — What  ’ll  you  have  ? — “  Didn ’t  I  call  for ’t,  ha  ?” — “  You 
can’t  cheat  me” — Doubted!  .  .  .  .  .  .76 


CHAPTER  VII. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  PAST. 


The  Convention  of  1838 — The  great  petition — A  committee  worth 
remembering — Looking  ahead — Hats  off,  gentlemen ! — The  Law 
of  1838 — Wholesale  Dealers  to  the  front! — They  meet — A  Paix- 
han  shell — The  lesson  of  past  events — Study  and  reorganiza¬ 
tion.  ..........  93 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TREASON. 

Robert  Rantoul  and  Massachusetts  Democracy — Up  Guards,  and 
at  them” — A  practical  illustration — A  shallow  Trickster — A  laugh 
out  of  place — Hard  at  work,  but  happy — Judge  Crosby — Wise 
counsel.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .113 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Money, how  will  you  get  it? — Financial  Plan — Duties  of  Agents— 
The  way  our  plan  worked — Illustrative  Reports — The  Washing¬ 
tonian  movement — The  Temperance  Union  breaking  down,  why  ? 
An  explanation — Local  organizations  essential — Washingtonian- 
ism,  its  errors — Washingtonianism,  its  power — Summing  up.  122 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Clergy  and  their  general  faithfulness — Mistakes  and  their  re¬ 
sults — “  Experiences,”  their  potency — More  blunders — The  Clergy 
disaffected — Close  organizations,  their  origin — Practical  results — 
Different  organizations  compared — What  is  needed.  .  .  140 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Open  societies,  their  advantages — Discussion  before  the  masses 
wonderfully  effective — Comparisons — Our  progress  too  slow — 
Why  I  thus  speak — Our  younger  brethren — Progress  before  the 
year  1840 — Some  change  essential  to  a  triumph — Three  classes 
will  not  join  the  Orders — Why  ? — Regalia — They  love  the  drink 
— Out  of  date  ?  No — How  they  work  in  California — A  glorious 
success — A  supposition — Policy  our  ground  of  choice.  .  154 

CHAPTER  XII. 

OPERATIONS  OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  TEMPERANCE  UNION. 

Sad  results  of  wrong  measures — Our  temperance  Poets — Fourteen 
o’clock — A  Cotton  Speculation — Jimmy’s  Mill— The  Distiller’s 
Disaster — A  grist  from  Jimmy’s  Mill . 172 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

BOUND,  AND  HOW. 

The  Widow’s  Son — In  the  “  Slough  of  Despond  ” — A  fight  for  Life — 
Victorious — The  Moral — A  Speculation — Still  moralizing — The 
Longevity  of  Reformers . .  .  .188 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

OUR  LEADERS  AND  CHAMPIONS. 

Rev.  Dr.  Justin  Edwards — The  First  New  England  Regiments — 
Personal  Peculiarities — Rev.  John  Pierpont — The  freedom  of  the 
Pulpit  assailed — A  Masterly  Defence — Logic — Logic  Versified — 
The  License  System — Sarcasm — Legitimate  employment  of  it — 
Awful  Exposures — Shall  we  give  it  wings  ?  Yes — “  Lament  in 
Rhyme,  Lament  in  Prose” — Square  hits — Summing  up.  .  196 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

“  THERE  WERE  GIANTS  IN  THOSE  DAYS.” 

L.  M.  Sargent — Personal  peculiarities — The  Temperance  Tales — A 
Damascus  blade  well  employed — ‘‘Deacon  Giles’  Distillery” — 
Providential  and  grand  results — Father  Taylor — Word  painting 
— Eloquence.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .214 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Joseph  Breck — A  glass  of  Gin — Compare  them,  Sir — Frightened — 
A  laugh  all  round — A  cup  of  tea — A  home  question — What  do 
you  say  ? — A  new  patron — Our  best  hold — Gough,  Gough  ! — 
Discussion,  its  value — The  tipsy  Son — Afflicted — The  old  story — 
Converted  at  a  blow — Temperance  Conversions,  how  effected — 
Ruminating — Only  to  travelers — Travelers  on  short  routes — Pret¬ 
ty  much  burned  out — The  poor  old  Doctor — Expelled — Why  is  it  ? 
The  Major — “  Take  him  off” — Threatened — Satisfaction — Recov¬ 
ered — Trying  it  again — “  Ten  cents” — The  whole  cost.  .  231 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Incompetent  Advocates — Their  influence — Our  early  Advocates — 
District  Societies — On  time — The  Christian  way — The  Lunch — 
A  Good  Time — The  lesson  of  it — Visit  the  Brethren — Rhymes — 
A  new  Field — How  shall  we  fix  it? — Plan  of  operations — Trouble 
in  the  Camp.  .........  265 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Moving — Guerrilla  Warfare — Almost  discouraged — Retreating-- 
Arrested  and  sent  to  the  front — One  thousand  dollars — Getting 

O 

into  type — Front  to  Front — We  rout  them — Comfortable — Visit¬ 
ing  the  Prisoners — Sham  Democracy — Republicans  unsound  and 
timid — A  glorious  opportunity — Political  action — They  beg  off — 
A  venal  Press. . 288 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Maine  Law — Reaction,  how  created — False  Witnesses — Work 
ing  up  a  “  reaction” — A  Prophesy — Its  fulfillment — How  it  goes — 


CONTENTS. 


*  xi 

Search  and  Seizure — Cleaned  out — A  Viper  without  fangs — Try¬ 
ing  it  on — Terrible  threats — Nobody  hurt — We  roll  them  out — 
Le^s — Three  cheers  for  the  Law — Cargoes  or  Pint  Bottles  ? 
Either ! — Property — Pour  it  out . 305 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Will  you  come  ?  Yes — A  Challenge — A  four  days  Debate — The 
Whisky  Champion — A  Bill  of  Indictment — Plausible  but  base¬ 
less — Still  Debating — Parallel  Cases — Shad  in  Connecticut  River  1 
Ha,  ha — A  good  time — A  capital  arrangement — A  Colloquy — 
A  Distiller  at  the  front — Political  Economy — Still-fed  Pork — - 
Tender” — Hard  Work  but  poor  Pay . 325 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Westward  ho! — On  the  Prairies — A  Thanksgiving  extemporized — 
Whisky  and  the  Indians — Life  on  the  Farm.  .  .  .342 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Return  to  New  England — Organization  and  Finance — Instruction 
the  Great  Want — Sensation  versus  Education — What  might  have 
been — Poverty  and  its  results — Mistakes  of  Good  Men — Why  is 
it  permitted  ? — A  “  New  Departure”  suggested — Will  you  attend 
to  it,  Sir  ? . 348 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Million  Fund — Massachusetts  Alliance — Old  Dr.  Beecher — To 
the  West  again — Thurlow  W.  Brown . 360 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Charles  Dickens — The  Logic  of  Facts — What  we  must  Teach — 
Foundations  and  Connections — Starvation  and  Consequent  Fee¬ 
bleness — Slightly  Intoxicated — Temperance  and  the  Doctors — • 
The  Longevity  of  our  Temperance  Fathers — Form  of*Organiza- 
tion  for  Local  Temperance  Societies — Conclusion.  .  37& 


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A  FORTY  YEARS  FIGHT 

WITH  THE  ^ 

DRINK  DEMON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Incentive  to  the  Battle — A  sad  state  of  things — A  little  lioht — 
Set  on — Considering  the  matter — The  Whipping  Post — The  first 
blow — Signing  the  pledge — Rev.  Dr.  Hewett — The  Fathers — ■ 
Missionary  work  with  Pills — William  Goodell — A  blow  from 
Elder  Meech — My  first  Speech — What  came  of  it — Pure  Gold. 

In  the  year  1826,  while  at  the  home  of  my  father  in 
Lisbon,  Conn.,  engaged  in  certain  studies  supposed  to 
be  necessary  as  preliminary  to  the  study  of  medicine,  in 
which  it  had  been  settled  that  I  should  subsequently 
engage,  rumors  reached  our  family  circle  that  move¬ 
ments  in  opposition  to  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors  had  originated,  not  only  in  our  own  state,  but 
in  other  New  England  states  'as  well.  These  rumors, 
aided  by  local  circumstances  which  I  cannot  here  detail, 
directed  our  thoughts  to  the  pernicious  results  of  the 
drinking  customs  which  at  that  time  universally  pre¬ 
vailed,  and  of  the  liquor  traffic  which  was  then  carried 
on  in  every  town  and  village  under  the  sanction  of  law 


14 


SAD  STATE  OF  THINGS. 


and  apparently  without  awakening  a  suspicion  on  the 
part  of  the  masses  of  the  people  that  there  was  anything 
wrong  about  either.  Our  attention  having  thus  been 
called  to  the  subject,  it  was  frequently  discussed  around 
our  hearth,  in  the  field,  and  by  the  way.  Facts  to  clas¬ 
sify  and  compare  and  from  which  to  draw  conclusions, 
were  all  around  us  and  were  of  the  most  startling  char¬ 
acter.  More  than  one-tenth  of  our  male  population  who 
had  passed  the  age  of  thirty  were  occasional,  if  not 
habitual,  drunkards.  With  that  statement  the  results 
otherwise  need  not  here  be  described.  And  yet,  on  all 
public  occasions,  intoxicating  liquors,  the  cause  of  all 
this  mischief,  were  present.  At  auctions,  military  train¬ 
ings  and  elections,  at  the  raising  of  houses,  barns,  or 
bridges,  at  public  celebrations,  on  New  Years  days  and 
the  annual  Thanksgivings,  at  funerals  and  even  at  the 
ordination  of  ministers,  the  presence  of  intoxicating 
liquors  was  deemed  indispensable.  They  were  relied 
upon  to  sustain  the  farmer  during  the  severe  labors  of 
the  haying  and  harvest ;  and  the  best  men  then  living 
drank  them  freely,  and  many  such  were  engaged  in  the 
traffic.  That  great  changes  have  been  wrought  in  the 
customs  and  habits  of  the  people  in  relation  to  these 
matters  since  that  date  is  obvious,  and  will  not  be  de¬ 
nied  by  any  honest  man.  Notwithstanding  the  general 
and  deplorable  blindness  of  the  people  at  the  period 
named,  in  reference  to  truths  which  millions  even  of  our 
children  and  youth  now  understand,  certain  facts  existed 
even  then  quite  sufficient  to  enable  awakened  and  in¬ 
quiring  minds  seeking  for  truth  and  light,  to  find  them, 
at  least  to  a  sufficient  extent  for  practical  guidance.  To 
be  sure  we  could  not  then ,  even  with  the  help  of  the  facts 


A  LITTLE  LIGHT. 


15 


to  which  I  am  about  to  call  attention,  see  the  wdiole 
truth.  It  was  not  necessary  that  we  should ;  hut  we 
could  see  enough  to  guide  us  in  the  right  direction,  to 
make  the  path  of  duty  plain  for  some  distance  before  us, 
and  that  is  all  we  have  ever  a  right  to  demand  ;  because 
a  resolute  walking  in  that  path  so  far  as  we  can  see  it, 
will  always  secure  additional  light  by  the  time  it  is 
needed. 

Here  and  there  an  individual  was  found,  who,  from 
the  possession  ot  some  personal  peculiarities  would 
not  follow  the  general  custom,  and  refused,  utterly,  to 
drink  spirituous  liquors  under  any  circumstances,  and 
it  was  perfectly  plain  to  all  observers,  when  attention 
was  directed  to  the  matter,  that  by  their  persistent  ab¬ 
stinence  they  lost  nothing  on  the  score  of  health  or  the 
power  of  endurance.  A  brother  of  mine  was  of  that 
number.  It  was  in  vain  that,  in  the  field  or  elsewhere, 
the  bottle  or  its  contents  were  pressed  upon  Joseph.  He 
would  not  drink.  He  did  not  like  the  taste  of  it.  The 
fiery  stuff  burned  his  mouth  and  he  would  not  swallow 
it.  “  But  Joseph,  you  cannot  stand  it  on  water  alone, 
through  these  long,  hot  days,  and  in  the  midst  of  such 
severe  labor,  without  a  little  stimulus.  You  will  be 
faint  and  give  out  before  night.”  “  Well,  when  I  do, 
you  will  know  it,”  was  Joe’s  uniform  reply.  We  soon 
discovered  that  he  endured  the  fatigue  of  the  hay  and 
harvest  field  as  well  as  the  rest  of  us.  In  fact,  if  any¬ 
body  Tailed,  it  was  never  Joe. 

Here,  and  in  other  similar  cases,  was  a  practical  refu¬ 
tation  of  prevailing  opinions ;  and  some  of  us  saw  it 
and  were  instructed.  My  first  earnest  effort  in  opposi¬ 
tion  to  the  existing  state  of  things  occurred  in  this  wise ; 


16 


SET  ON. 


Events  had  occurred  in  the  immediate  neighborhood, 
growing  out  of  the  use  of  liquor,  which  greatly  inter¬ 
ested  our  family ;  and  the  subject  had  been  discussed 
around  our  hearth  during  a  certain  evening  with  a  good 
deal  of  earnestness.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  discus¬ 
sion,  my  father  said  to  me,  in  a  very  earnest  way,  (I 
seem  almost  to  hear  his  words  ringing  in  my  ears  now, 
after  the  lapse  of  forty-five  years,)  “  Charles,  you  are 
always  scribbling  about  something,  and  for  the  most  part, 
I  think,  on  matters  of  very  little  importance  ;  and  now, 
if  you  have  any  gifts  in  connection  with  the  use  of  the 
quill,  try  your  hand  for  once  on  a  subject  of  some  con¬ 
sequence.”  “  What  would  you  have  me  do  ?”  I  asked. 
u  Go  into  your  chamber  to-morrow  morning  and  write 
an  address  to  the  authorities  of  this  town  and  endeavor 
to  show  them  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  granting 
men  license  to  destroy  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the 
neighborhood  by  selling  liquors ;  for  that  is  the  result 
of  the  sale  any  way,  and  men  with  but  half  an  eye  ought 
to  see  it.” 

The  reader  will  perceive  that  my  venerated  father, 
though  he  was  not  at  the  time  a  personal  abstainer,  had 
begun  to  get  his  eyes  open  to  see  things  as  they  were. 
AsJ  had  been  educated  from  my  childhood  to  find  pleas¬ 
ure  in  always  gratifying,  as  far  as  possible,  the  wishes  of 
my  parents,  (that  was  an  ancient  fashion  which  has  be¬ 
come  almost  obsolete,)  and  as  I  had  become  considerably 
intcresfcfr  iii  Tlie  matter  myself,  I  went  to  my  chamber 
the  following  'morning  to  undertake” the  task  assigned 
me. 

*  i  — - ’■ 

The  first  tiling  to  be  done,  of  course,  was  to  consider 
the  subject  earnestly  and  in  all  its  aspects,  so  far  as  my 


CONSIDERING  THE  MATTER. 


IT 


boy-brain  and  limited  observation  would  enable  me.  I 
planted  myself,  in  imagination,  over  at  the  store,  not 
eighty  rods  from  my  fathers  door,  and  in  my  thought 
followed  the  jugs  of  liquor  from  thence  to  the  homes  of 
the  people.  From  the  center  of  the  town,  or  parish, 
(Lisbon  Green,  we  called  it,)  five  roads  diverged  in  as 
many  directions,  and  I  knew,  personally,  every  inhab¬ 
itant  for  miles.  On  every  road  within  a  mile  and  a  half 
of  the  “  meeting-house  ”  was  the  home  of  one  or  more 
men  ruined  by  drink ;  on  one  of  the  roads  there  were 
three,  and  a  barn  is  now  standing  on  that  road,  within 
a  mile  of  the  meeting-house,  in  which  two  intemperate 
men  have,  in  fits  of  desperation,  hanged  themselves 
since  1828.  I  saw  distinctly  that  the  mission  of  the 
liquor  which  was  daily  carried  out  of  that  store  was  a 
different  one  from  that  of  the  sugar,  the  coffee,  and 
the  cotton  warps  which  the  farmer’s  wives  in  those 
days  filled’  in  their  own  looms  with  home-spun  woolen 
and  wrought  into  blankets  and  garments  for  the  boys. 
The  liquor  supplied  no  natural  want,  but,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  created  an  artificial  one,  which  clamored  increas¬ 
ingly  for  gratification,  until  the  ruin  of  its  subject  was 
often  effected,  involving  in  most  cases  the  ruin  of  domes¬ 
tic  happiness,  and  sometimes  of  different  members  of 
the  family. 

While  I  mused  upon  these  things  I  became  excited 
over  them,  and  set  about  the  task  before  me,  and  I 
wrote  an  address  to  the  Selectmen  in  rhyme.  Youth, 
and  very  limited  knowledge,  is  the  only  apology  I  can 
offer  for  having  done  so.  Although  the  work  of  a  boy, 
and  very  imperfect,  yet  it  was  an  honest,  earnest,  and 
truthful,  though  clumsy,  expression  of  thought  and  feel- 


18 


THE  WHIPPING  POST. 


ing,  and  it  wrought  good  results.  My  father  had  a  hun¬ 
dred  copies  of^Ehe  address  printed,  privately,  at  his  own 
expense,  and  on  a  certain  Saturday  night,  while  the  peo¬ 
ple  generally  slept,  these  were  distributed  about  the 
town,  or  parish,  rather.  Here  a  copy  was  stuck  on  the 
front  gate  with  a  tack,  (my  father  made  tacks,)  there, 
one  carefully  folded,  was  slipped  under  the  door-knocker, 
or  thrust  under  the  front  door.  One  copy  was  tacked  on 
the  whipping-post,  or  rather,  on  the  wooden  box  sur¬ 
mounting  it ;  for,  although  scourging  as  a  penalty  for 
crime  had  ceased  to  be  practiced,  (old  Betty  Green  was 
the  last  whipped  for  stealing  from  the  church  the  table 
cloths  used  at  the  communion  service,)  that  old  relic  of 
barbarism  still  stood  on  the  “  Green  ”  in  front  of  the 
“  meeting-house.”  One  copy  had  been  tacked  pretty 
securely  on  the  aforesaid  box,  and  was  not  observed  un¬ 
til  the  people  came  to  “  meeting*,”  and  it  was  then  too 
late  for  any  party  who  might  be  aggrieved  to  tear  it 
down ;  for  to  do  so  would  be  to  proclaim  that  he  was 
among  the  wounded  pigeons.  There  it  remained,  there¬ 
fore,  through  the  day;  and  during  the  interval  of  public 
wTorsliip  was  read  probably  by  every  man  and  boy  who 
had  come  to  the  meeting,  and  who  was  tall  enough  to 
read  it  from  the  ground.  The  post  was  about  six  feet 
high. 

Here  was  “  moral  suasion  ”  applied  in  a  very  direct 
way ;  and  it  was  interesting  to  note  the  amount  of  rum 
wrath  which  this  anonymous  production  awakened  in 
certain  of  the  readers.  I  iioted  it  with  interest,  for  I 
was  present ;  and,  to  prevent  any  suspicion  attaching  to 
me  as  its  author,  I  elbowed  my  way  through  the  staring 
crowd  and  read  the  article  with  apparently  as  much 


THE  FIRST  BLOW. 


19 


interest  as  any  of  the  group.  That  the  curious  reader 
may  be  enabled  to  form  some  idea  of  the  character  of 
the  document,  I  will  give  him  here  a  brief  extract ;  but 
I  must  once  more  earnestly  beg  him  while  reading  it 
to  remember  that  its  author  was  but  a  country  boy, 
whose  reading  had  been  pretty  much  confined  to  the 
Bible  and  Psalm  Book,  the  old  Westminster  Catechism, 
The  American  Preceptor,  Columbian  Orator,  Robinson 
Crusoe,  Weam’s  Life  of  Washington,  and  a  weekly,  and 
most  excellent  newspaper,  The  Norwich  Courier.  Refer¬ 
ring  to  the  liquor  shop  and  the  drinking  customs  of  the 
people  as  a  source  of  mischief  this  was  written  : — 

“  Most  other  evils  to  this  fount  we  trace, 

Which  blast  our  pleasures  and  destroy  our  race. 

For  this,  the  widow  mourns — her  husband  dead ; 

For  this,  the  starving  children  cry  for  bread ; 

For  this,  the  wife  sits  waiting  for  her  spouse, 

At  midnight  hour,  and  ponders  o  ’er  her  woes, 

While  he,  poor  wretch,  all  power  of  moving  fled, 

Sleeps  by  the  fence,  or  in  yon  crazy  shed. 

In  vain  she  goes  and  listens  at  the  door ; 

The  sighing  breeze,  the  torrent’s  distant  roar 
Are  all  she  hears.  Now,  where  her  children  sleep, 

She  casts  one  look,  and  then  lies  down  to  weep. 

Now,  tell  me,  what  on  earth  can  comfort  bring, 

Or  from  what  source  shall  smiling  pleasure  spring  ? 
Pleasure !  ’tis  what  on  earth  she  ne  ’er  can  know, 

Where  every  passing  hour  augments  her  woe.” 

In  the  conclusion  of  the  article,  which  was  of  consid¬ 
erable  length,  though  thrown  off  at  one  sitting,  the  boy 
made  the  following  appeal  to  the  Fathers  of  the  town,  its 
civil  authorities,  who,  as  far  as  licensing  men  to  sell 
liquors  was  concerned,  had  all  power  in  the  premises  : — 


20 


SIGNING  THE  PLEDGE. 


“  Oh,  banish  grog  shops,  and  thus  check  this  ill, 

Delay  no  longer,  but  your  part  fulfill, 

Rescue  the  fallen,  sinking  age  regard, 

And  Heaven’s  best  blessings  will  be  your  reward.” 

r  A  temperance  society  was  formed  in  my  native  town, 
\l  think,  in  182T,  the  pledge  of  which  I,  with  most  of  my 
/father’s  family,  signed.  It  pledged  its  subscribers  only 
^against  the  sale  and  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  Among 
many  others,  some  very  aged  men  of  the  town,  at  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  our  venerable  clergyman,  Rev. 
Levi  Nelson,  joined  the  society  and  signed  its  pledge, 
fully  expecting  to  suffer  in  their  health  from  the  change 
it  involved ;  but  were  afterwards  surprised  to  find  that 
what  they  had  done  for  the  sake  of  benefiting  others 
through  their  example,  had  really  been  blessed  to  the 
improvement  of  their  own  health. 

From  the  time  when  these  events  occurred  in  that 
usually  quiet,  rural  community,  to  the  year  1840,  the 
store  at  the  “  Green  ”  was  successively  occupied  hy  four 
individuals.  I  knew  them  all,  and  can  testify  that  they 
were  kind-hearted,  social,  and  agreeable  gentlemen,  good 
neighbors,  and,  excepting  their  ruinous  traffic,  were  use¬ 
ful,  well-disposed,  and  public-spirited  men.  Alas  !  three 
out  of  the  four  went  down  to  their  graves  the  lamented 
victims  of  their  own  traffic,  and  the  fourth  suffered 
severely  in  his  own  family  from  the  same  cause.  But 
one,  of  all  the  intemperate  men  of  that  community,  ever 
reformed,  and  lie  was  so  far  broken  down  physically,  by 
long  and  free  drinking,  that  he  never  regained  hia 
health,  remaining  to  liis  death  but  the  feeble  wreck  of 
his  former  self. 

No  event  occurred  worthy  of  special  notice,  as  con- 


REY.  DR.  HEWETT. 


21 


nected  with  temperance,  during  the  three  years  which  ] 
devoted  to  the  study  of  medicine,  except  a  visit  to  Pitts- 
field,  Mass.,  where  I  attended  medical  lectures,  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Hewett,  then  in  the  employment  of  “  The 
American  Temperance  Society  ”  as  a  lecturing  agent. 
That  learned,  able,  and  eloquent  man  delivered  two 
public  lectures  on  the  subject  in  that  town,  which  were 
largely  attended,  and  which  so  moved  the  influential 
portion  of  its  citizens,  that  a  committee  was  at  once  ap¬ 
pointed  to  take  measures  to  stop  the  destructive  traffic 
in  liquors ;  but  the  influence  of  his  appeals  soon  died 
away  to  such  an  extent  that  the  traffic  was  continued 
and  still  curses  the  town,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
Western  Massachusetts. 

The  startling  view  of  the  liquor  system,  presented  by 
Dr.  Hewett  in  those  lectures,  was  not,  however,  without 
permanent  results.  Undoubtedly  they  left  impressions 
on  many  minds  as  lasting  as  life.  Certainly  they  deep¬ 
ened  in  the  mind  of  one  young  doctor,  who  heard  them, 
a  hatred,  already  pretty  strong,  of  the  liquor  traffic  and 
the  drinking  usages  of  society,  and  fixed,  more  firmly 

than  ever  before,  his  determination  to  wage  upon  both, 

•  » 

while  life  should  last,  perpetual  and  uncompromising 
war. 

More  than  forty  years  after  listening,  at  Pittsfield,  to 
that  excellent  man  and  intellectual  giant,  I  had  the  hap¬ 
piness  to  meet  him  at  a  temperance  gathering  in  Bridge¬ 
port,  Conn.  It  was  during  the  last  year  of  his  life.  He 
had  learned  that  I  was  to  address  the  people  there  on 
the  good  old  theme,  and,  though  in  feeble  health,  he  at¬ 
tended  the  meeting,  opened  it  by  prayer,  at  the  request 
of  the  chairman,  P.  T.  Barnum,  Esq.,  and  listened  with 


22 


THE  FATHERS. 


attention  while  I  addressed  a  crowded  congregation. 
At  its  close  he  arose  and  gave  a  hearty  endorsement  to 
the  doctrines  advanced,  and  to  the  counsel  given,  and, 
grasping  my  hand  in  his  earnest  way,  thanked  me  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation  for  my  earnest  advocacy  of 
a  cause  he  loved.  When  such  earnest  advocates  of 
this  noble  cause  pass  away,  as  Hewett,  Edwards,  Beecher, 
Pierpont,  Marsh,  Sflxg&nR  *md  Nott,  I  am  ready  to  ex¬ 
claim  in  the  language  of  one  of  old,  u  My  father,  my 
father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof!” 
God  give  to  those  of  us  who  follow  them  a  double  por¬ 
tion  of  the  Spirit  by  which  those  noble  men  were  actua¬ 
ted. 

In  the  year  1829,  I  commenced  the  practice  of  medi¬ 
cine  at  East  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island.  In  the  western 
part  of  the  town  where  I  located  not  a  single  individual 
practised  abstinence  from  intoxicating  liquors  from  any 
conviction  that  it  was  wrong  to  drink,  if  in  moderation. 
Here,  therefore,  the  work  was  to  be  commenced  de  novo . 
I  had  to  convert  my  first  man,  and  I  set  to  work  on  a 
favorite  theory  of  mine,  in  reference  to  missionary  oper¬ 
ations  in  general,  viz :  aim  at  the  conversion  of  those 
nearest  to  you  first ,  and  extend  operations  as  opportuni¬ 
ties  offer.  I  am  apt  to  distrust  a  missionary  zeal  that 
burns  to  do  good  to  somebody  a  thousand  miles  away, 
but  neglects  opportunities  of  doing  good  just  at  hand. 
I  secured  the  conversion  to  my  temperance  faith  of  the 
excellent  family  with  whom  I  boarded,  that  of  Andrew 
Pitcher,  and  their  hearty  cooperation  in  every  move¬ 
ment  I  afterward  made  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause 
in  their  neighborhood.  That  family  has  been  passed  by 
by  the  destroying  angel  of  the  still.  God  grant  that 


HE  IS  HIT  DECIDEDLY.  2T 

I  now  ask  you,  if,  when  you  take  the  jug  or  bottle  from 
the  hand  of  the  poor  little  ragged  son  or  daughter  of  the 
drunkard,  and  go  behind  your  counter,  and  turn  your 
faucet  to  draw  for  a  drunken  father  his  daily  quart  of 
liquor,  you  can,  while  the  measure  is  filling  up,  improve 
the  passing  moment  to  lift  your  heart  to  God  and  crave 
his  blessing  on  such  a  calling  ?  You  dare  not  do  it. 
You  would  fear  the  vengeance  of  insulted  Heaven 
against  such  high  handed  wickedness  added  to  such  dar¬ 
ing  impiety.  But  you  may  say,  perhaps,  that  you  do  not 
sell  to  the  drunkard.  What  then  ?  You  sold  to  him 
while  he  was  a  sober  man.  He  was,  perhaps,  educated 
in  the  school  of  drunkenness  at  your  counter ,  but  when 
he  had  lost  his  property  and  could  no  longer  meet  his 
payments,  all  at  once  your  conscience  became  exceed¬ 
ingly  tender,  and  when  the  poor  besotted  victim  of  de¬ 
praved  appetite  begs  you  to  furnish  him  but  one  glass  to 
satisfy  his  insatiate  longings,  you  can  then  vociferate  in 
loud  and  determined  tone,  ‘  You  shall  not  have  it ,’  and 
the  poor  wretch,  as  he  turns  disappointed  and  unsatis¬ 
fied  away,  mutters  his  curses  against  you  as  one  of  the 
prime  authors  of  his  destruction.” 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  discourse  Elder  Meech 
grasped  my  hand,  and,  with  a  voice  tremulous  with 
emotion,  thanked  me  for  this  timely  and  efficient  sup¬ 
port.  “  This,”  said  the  good  man,  “  is  friendship  in¬ 
deed,  to  throw  yourself  into  the  breach  with  me  at  such 
a  time  as  this.”  Among  the  friends  of  the  infant  enter¬ 
prise,  one  man,  besides  Elder  Meech,  was  conspicuous. 
He  was  a  man  of  large  intellect,  and  a  noble  soul  thor¬ 
oughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Christ.  He  had  been 
greatly  interested  in  the  preparations  for  the  meeting, 


28 


PURE  GOLD. 


u 


active  in  extending  the  notice  and  in  securing  a  general 
attendance,  and  with  the  most  intense  interest  he  now 
listened  to  every  word  of  the  discourse.  It  was  but  an 
utterance  of  his  own  thought  and  feeling  by  another 
voice,  and  both  his  intellect  and  heart  responded.  How 
that  great,  clear,  and  loving  eye  of  his  kindled  as  he  saw 
that  the  truth  was  finding  a  lodgment  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  his  neighbors  and  friends  !  It  might  have  been 
truthfully  said  of  him,  as  of  the  martyred  Stephen,  that 
“  his  face  shone  as  the  face  of  an  angel.”  God  be 
thanked  for  such  men  as  Deacon  Russell  Jocelyn.  It  is 
with  a  thrill  of  pleasure  that  I  write  his  name.  For 
years  I  enjoyed  his  friendship  and  cooperation.  But  he 
has  gone  to  his  rest.  He  was  a  noble  man  by  nature, 
made  more  noble,  more  efficient,  and  sweeter  by  the 
grace  of  God. 

At  the  close  of  the  public  service  I  was  solicited  by  a 
committee,  just  then  and  there  appointed,  to  furnish  a 
copy  of  the  discourse  for  publication.  My  manuscript 
was  placed  in  their  hands,  and  a  subscription  raised 
upon  the  spot  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  five  hundred 
copies.  It  was  printed  and  distributed,  and  no  pam¬ 
phlet  ever  circulated  in  Rhode  Island  was  more  carefully 
studied.  The  subject,  however  imperfectly  treated,  was 
entirely  new.  It  interested  both  friends  and  enemies  of 
the  liquor  system,  and  all  were  anxious  to  learn  what 
could  be  said  on  the  subject. 


LITTLE  MONEY,  BUT  RICH.  ol 

and  often  resolved  that  under  the  circumstances  I  must 
decline  future  invitations;  but  committees  would  visit 
me  and  urge  the  needs  of  the  cause  in  their  several  lo¬ 
calities  with  such  earnestness  and  persistence  that 
I  would  consent  to  go  just  that  once,  and  so  it  continued 
for  years.  In  all  this,  however,  I  received  a  rich  re¬ 
ward  in  intimate  connection  with  the  labor.  The  com¬ 
fort  of  believing  that  I  was  thus  lessening  sin  and  con¬ 
sequent  suffering,  that  I  was  thus,  in  a  humble  way,  in¬ 
ducing  my  countrymen  to  honor  the  laws  of  God  in  their 
personal  habits,  and  to  secure  their  personal  develop¬ 
ment  in  a  right  direction  by  laboring  for  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  truth  and  righteousness  in  the  world,  and  thus 
to  come  more  into  the  spirit  and  the  work  of  our  Divine 
Master  by  active  sympathy  with  the  suffering,  and  by 
the  practice  of  self-denial  for  the  good  of  others. 

How  rich  I  often  felt  in  seeing,  at  the  close  of  an 
evening’s  service,  twenty,  thirty,  and  sometimes  fifty 
names  added  to  the  pledge  of  abstinence,  oftentimes  em¬ 
bracing  in  the  number  some  of  the  most  honored  and 
influential  names  of  the  community.  How  I  rejoiced 
and  gloried  in  the  work ;  and  often  as  I  journeyed 
homeward  from  such  labor  late  in  the  night,  and  alone 
under  the  silent  stars,  I  devoutly  thanked  God  that  I 
was  permitted  to  labor  for  so  good  a  cause.  It  is  a 
truth,  with  which  I  think  the  mass  of  mankind  are  not 
sufficiently  impressed,  that  while  we  labor  unselfishly 
for  the  good  of  others,  we  are  taking  the  most  direct  and 
effective  means  for  securing  our  own  happiness  and  self¬ 
development  in  the  highest  and  best  sense  of  that  term. 
Hence,  really  Christian  labor  brings  its  own  exceeding 
great  reward  now  and  here ,  while  engaged  in  it,  and 


32 


BEN  JOHNSON  CURES  THE  DOCTOR. 


quite  independent  of  any  promised  or  anticipated  re- 
wards  in  the  distant  future.  t 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1835  I  was  invited  by  the 
leading  citizens  of  Centerville,  Warwick,  to  take  the 
place  and  practice  of  a  Dr.  Knight,  who,  for  many 
years,  had  been  the  principal  and  very  popular  physician 
of  that  village  and  vicinity,  but  who  had  decided  to  re¬ 
tire  from  business.  I  accepted  the  situation  and  re¬ 
moved  my  family  thither.  It  was  but  five  miles  from 
my  former  place  of  residence,  and  as  it  was  the  center 
of  a  cluster  of  manufacturing  villages,  it  offered  a  more 
extended  field  for  professional  labor. 

Soon  after  my  location  at  Centerville  I  was  invited  to 
address  the  people  at  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of 
the  Centerville  Temperance  Society.  I  accepted  the  in¬ 
vitation  and  performed  the  service,  getting  more  hearty 
thanks  from  the  society  than  from  a  number  of  liquor 
sellers  who  were  conducting  a  killing  business  in  that 
and  the  neighboring  villages,  as,  in  the  lecture,  I  ex¬ 
pressed  in  not  very  complimentary  terms  my  opinion  of 
their  traffic. 

I  mention  the  fact  just  here,  for  the  ,c  ake  of  giving 
additional  point  to  a  brief  narrative,  of  one  of  the  most 
ludicrous  and  painful  events  which  has  ever  occurred  in 
connection  with  my  temperance  labor,  and  yet  it  was  to 
me  quite  instructive.  Hitherto  I  had  not  adopted  the 
“  Comprehensive  Pledge,”  my  warfare  being  with  “spir¬ 
ituous  ”  or  “  distilled  ”  liquors.  I  had,  however, 
stopped  drinking  wine,  for  Ben  Johnson,  to  whom  1  had 
given  a  personal  exhortation  to  relinquish  his  much¬ 
loved  gin,  had  blunted  the  edge  of  my  talk  by  asking  me 
if  I  did  not  occasionally  take  a  glass  of  wine,  (the  fel- 


CIDER  EXPERIENCE. 


33 


low  knew  I  did,)  and  further,  and  worse  still,  had  asked 
me  ivliy  I  drank  the  wine  in  preference  to  water.  I  had 
replied  that  when  I  had  been  riding  in  the  cold,  and 
was  broken  of  my  rest,  <fcc.,  I  had  found  the  moderate 
stimulus  of  a  glass  of  wine  to  be  quite  refreshing  to  me. 
“  You  are  right,”  said  Ben,  “  and  when  I  have- been  out 
chopping  all  day,  or  sledding  wood,  and  get  tired  and 
chilled,  I  find  the  moderate  stimulus  of  a  glass  of  gin 
refreshing  to  me.”  That  speech  had  cured  me  of  wine 
drinking,  but  still  I  occasionally  drank  at  the  tables  of 
farmers  a  glass  of  cider.  Not  often,  but  occasionally, 
and  I  was  not  pledged  against  its  use. 

In  removing  my  effects  from  my  former  residence  to 
Centerville,  a  load  or  two  of  apples  had  been  taken  over 
— it  was  in  the  autumn — and  a  couple  of  barrels  of  ci¬ 
der,  as  I  had  owned  an  orchard  in  the  country,  and  a 
neighbor  had  worked  up  my  refuse  apples  “on  sheers,” 
as  he  termed  it.  The  cider  had  been  put  into  my  cel¬ 
lar  at  Centerville  and  forgotten,  for  I  did  not  care 
enough  for  it  to  put  it  on  tap.  Others,  it  seems,  had 
cast  affectionate  glances  upon  it  while  it  was  being 
put  into  the  cellar,  and  one  morning  a  citizen  of  the 
village  called  and  inquired  if  I  had  not  a  barrel  of  cider 
which  I  would  sell.  Just  then  I  had  use  for  every  spare 
dollar,  for  I  had  bought  the  property  of  Dr.  Knight,  and 
my  transfer  to  a  new  field  of  labor  had  taxed  me  pretty 
heavily.  I  remembered  that  there  were  two  casks  in 
the  cellar,  and  concluded  that  one,  properly  cared  for, 
would  make  all  the  vinegar  we  should  need,  and  I  there¬ 
fore  replied  that  I  would  sell  to  him  the  other  barrel. 
The  price  was  agreed  upon,  and  he  took  it  home  on  a 
wheelbarrow.  He  was  a  giant  for  strength,  had  a 


34 


THOU  ART  THE  MAN. 


noble  physical  frame,  and,  as  I  afterward  learned,  was 
really  a  clever  fellow  and  a  useful  citizen  when  free 
from  the  influence  of  drink.  Of  course,  I  knew  nothing 
of  the  man’s  habits  or  history,  when  I  sold  him  the  ci¬ 
der,  for  I  was  a  new  comer  in  the  village.  Thus  far  it 
had  not  once  occurred  to  me  that  I  had  been  guilty  of 
any  impropriety,  or  had  acted  at  all  inconsistent  with 
my  profession  as  a  friend  of  temperance. 

A  few  days  after  the  departure  of  the  cider  the  super¬ 
intendent  of  a  factory  in  the  neighborhood  called  at  my 
residence,  early  in  the  morning,  and  requested  me  to  go 
directly  to  a  distant  part  of  the  village  and  see  a  Mr. 
Wilcox,  who,  he  stated,  was  in  a  most  deplorable  condi¬ 
tion.  I  inquired  if  he  had  been  suddenly  attacked,  and 
what  appeared  to  be  the  trouble  or  ailment.  He  an¬ 
swered  that  it  was  a  sort  of  mania  or  drunken  craziness. 
At  the  word  “  drunken”  I  started,  of  course,  and  in¬ 
quired  if  he  knew  where  the  man  got  his  liquor.  In  my 
thought  I  was  after  the  rum-seller  directly.  “  He  has 
had  no  liquor,”  said  my  friend  Allen.  “No  liquor! 
On  what,  then,  did  he  get  drunk  ?”  a  Why,  somebody 
sold  him  a  barrel  of  cider  a  few  days  ago,  and  he  has 
been  pouring  it  down  ever  since.  He  is  not  so  drunk 
but  what  he  can  move  about,  but  he  is  as  fierce  as  a 
tiger,  and  the  moment  he  is  seen  outside  of  his  door  the 
neighbors  clap  too  their  doors  and  bolt  them  that  he 
may  not  enter.” 

What  a  revelation  was  here  !  Mr.  Allen  did  not 
know  that  I  had  sold  that  barrel  of  cider,  but  I  knew  it, 
and  if  I  ever  felt  like  getting  into  a  very  small  place 
and  shutting  the  door  after  me  it  was  then.  Could  I 
have  been  bought  that  morning  at  the  then  present  valu- 


OUT  OF  THE  SCRAPE. 


35 


at  ion,  and  afterwards  sold  at  former  estimates,  some¬ 
body  would  have  made  a  speculation.  I  visited  the  mis¬ 
erable  man,  tried  to  purchase  back  what  remained  of 
the  cider,  offering  for  it  all  he  had  paid  for  the  full  bar¬ 
rel,  that  I  might  pour  it  on  the  earth  at  once  ;  but  he 
refused  to  part  with  it.  I  assured  him,  however,  that  I 
should  see  him  again  the  following  morning,  and  if  I 
found  him  in  the  same  condition  I  would  go  into  the 
cellar  at  all  hazards  and  empty  the  barrel,  for  I  was  de¬ 
termined  that  it  should  not  be  true  another  day  that  a 
man  in  Centerville  was  drunk  on  an  article  which  Dr. 
Charles  Jewett,  a  temperance  lecturer,  had  sold  him. 
After  my  departure,  his  wife,  at  her  own  imminent 
peril,  glided  down  tlie*cellar  stairs  and  drew  the  tap, 
and  the  barrel  was  soon  empty.  I  certainly  felt  much 
obliged  to  her,  and  I  can  assure  my  readers  that  I  have 
sold  no  cider  since.  That  incident  taught  me  that 
there  was  but  one  consistent  course  for  any  real  friend 
of  temperance  to  pursue,  viz  :  To  wage  uncompromising 
and  indiscriminate  war  on  all  intoxicating  liquors,  no 
matter  by  what  name  they  may  be  called. 

The  second  year  1  spent  in  Centerville,  it  was  the 
year  1836,  I  believe,  I  wrote  a  rhymed  address  to 
retailers  of  liquor,  a  copy  of  which  was  solicited  by  my 
neighbor,  friend,  and  faithful  fellow-laborer,  Rev.  S. 
W.  Coggshall,  for  publication  in  “  Zion’s  Herald,”  the 
organ  of  the  Methodist  denomination  for  New  England, 
and  an  earnest  and  able  advocate  of  thorough  temper¬ 
ance  from  that  date  to  its  last  issue.  It  appeared  in 
that  paper,  and  as  the  friends  of  the  cause  in  Rhode 
Island  thought  it  contained  some  important  truths,  with 
which  the  public  mind  should  become  familiar',  they 


36 


RHYMES  AND  RETAILERS. 


caused  it  to  be  published  in  band-bill  form  also,  and 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  copies  were  distrib¬ 
uted  through  that  and  neighboring  states.  I  place  it 
before  my  readers  here,  not  for  any  literary  merit  it 
possesses,  but  that  they  may  learn  what  were  my  views 
of  the  traffic  at  the  date  at  which  the  article  was 
written,  and  that  they  may  also  learn  what  instrumen¬ 
talities  were  employed  by  the  friends  of  the  cause  at 
that  early  period  of  its  history,  with  which  to  mould  the 
public  sentiment,  will,  and  action  on  this  great  question. 
Let  it  be  borne  constantly  in  mind  that  I  am  not  giving 
a  general  history  of  the  progress  of  the  temperance 
enterprise  throughout  the  country,  but  only  such  move¬ 
ments  as  occurred  under  my  ow%  observation,  or  so  near 
to  me  that  I  became  thoroughly  acquainted  therewith, 
and  deeply  interested  therein. 

AN  ADDRESS 

To  Retailers  of  Intoxicating  Liquors, 

BY  CHARLES  JEWETT,  M.  D., 

of  Centreville,  Warwick ,  JR.  /. 

Ye,  who  regardless  of  your  country’s  good, 

Fill  up  your  coffers  with  the  price  of  blood ; 

Who  pour  out  poison  with  a  liberal  hand, 

And  scatter  crime  and  misery  through  the  land ; 

Though  now  rejoicing  in  the  midst  of  health, 

In  full  possession  of  ill-gotten  wealth, 

Yet  a  few  days,  at  most,  the  hour  must  come, 

When  ye  shall  know  the  poison-sellers’  doom, 

And  shrink  beneath  it  for  upon  you  all, 

The  indignation  of  a  God  shall  fall. 

Ye  know  the  fruits  of  this  accursed  trade, 

Ye  see  the  awful  havoc  it  hath  made, 


STILL  RHYMING. 


37 


Ye  pour  to  men  disease,  and  want,  and  woe, 

And  then  tell  us  ye  wish  it  were  not  so, 

But,  ’tis  a  truth,  and  that  ye  know  full  well, 

That  some  will  drink  so  long  as  ye  will  sell. 

But  here  that  old  excuse  yet  meets  us  still, 

“  If  I  don’t  sell  the  poison,  others  will.” 

Then  let  them  sell  and  you’ll  be  none  the  worse 
They’ll  have  the  profits,  and  they’ll  have  the  curse. 
Bear  this  in  mind,  you  have  at  your  command  , 
The  power  to  curse  or  power  to  bless  the  land ; 

If  ye  will  sell,  Intemperance  still  shall  roll 
Its  wave  of  bitterness  o’er  many  a  soul. 

Still  shall  the  wife  for  her  lost  husband  mourn, 
And  sigh  for  days  that  never  shall  return. 

Still  that  unwelcome  sight  our  eyes  shall  greet, 

Of  beggar’d  children  roaming  through  the  street ; 
And  thousands,  whom  our  labors  cannot  save, 

Go  trembling,  tottering,  reeling  to  the  grave. 

Still  loitering  at  your  shop  the  live-long  day, 

Will  scores  of  idlers  pass  their  hours  away ; 

And  e’en  the  peaceful  night  for  rest  ordained, 
Shall  with  their  noisy  revels  be  profaned. 

The  poisonous  cup  will  pass,  and  mirth  and  glee 
Gild  o’er  the  surface  of  their  misery ; 

Uproarious  laughter  fill  each  space  between — 
Harsh  oaths,  ungodly  songs,  and  jests  obscene. 
And  there  you'll  stand  amid  that  drunken  throng, 
Laugh  at  the  jest,  and  glory  in  the  song. 

How  oft  ye  see  the  children  of  the  poor, 

With  unshod  feet,  unwilling,  throng  your  door, 
And  carry  with  them,  as  they  homeward  go, 

The  fruitful  source  of  wretchedness  and  woe  — 
That  which  will  change  the  father  to  a  beast ; 

That  which  will  rob  a  mother  of  her  rest ; 

And  take  from  lialf-fed  children  needful  bread, 
And  give  them  curses,  frowns,  and  blows  instead ! 


88 


ARGUMENTUM  AD  HOMIEUM. 


>1/  vlf.  *|V  ^  ^  jJt 

A  vfr  Vr»  *t'  A  A  m' 

Pour  out  your  poison  till  some  victim  dies ; 

Then  go,  and  at  his  funeral  wipe  your  eyes. 

Join  there  that  mourning  throng,  with  solemn  face, 

And  help  to  bear  him  to  the  burial-place. 

There  stands  his  wife,  with  weeping  children  round, 

While  their  fast-falling  tears  bedew  the  ground. 

From  many  an  eye  the  gem  of  pity  starts, 

And  many  a  sigh  from  sympathizing  hearts, 

Comes  laboring  up,  and  almost  chokes  the  breath, 

While  thus  they  gaze  upon  the  work  of  death. 

The  task  concludes ;  the  relics  of  the  dead 
Are  slowly  settled  to  their  damp,  cold  bed. 

Come,  now,  draw  near,  my  money-making  friend ; 

You  saw  the  starting — come  and  see  the  end ; 

When  first  you  filled  his  glass,  one  would  suffice ; 

Next  two  were  wanting  ;  and  now,  here  he  lies , 

Look  now  into  that  open  grave,  and  say, 

Dost  feel  no  sorrow,  no  remorse,  to-day  ? 

Does  not  your  answering  conscience  loud  declare. 

That  your  cursed  avarice  has  laid  him  there  ? 

Now,  since  the  earth  has  closed  o’er  his  remains, 

Turn  o’er  your  book*  and  count  your  honest  gains. 

With  these  lines  I  purposed  to  close  the  article  ;  but 
circumstances  occurred  which  rendered  it  quite  conven¬ 
ient  for  me  to  add  a  few  lines.  A  Mr.  Ivilton,  residing 
in  Washington  Factory  Village,  had  been  requested  to 
purchase  for  his  sisters  some  trifling  article  of  dry 
goods.  The  merchant,  of  whom  he  purchased  it,  used 
as  a  wrapper,  a  leaf  torn  from  an  old  account  hook,  in 
which  accounts  had  been  kept  years  before,  when 
liquors,  as  well  as  dry  goods  were  retailed  at  the  store. 


TilE  WINDING  SHEET. 


39 


When  Mr.  Kilton  reached  home,  the  purchased  article 
was  called  for.  He  delivered  it,  retaining  in  his  hand  the 
paper  in  which  it  had  been  wrapped.  Glancing  his  eye 
over  the  paper,  he  observed,  that  upon  that  leaf  had 
been  kept  the  account  of  the  last  week’s  purchases  of  a 
family  by  the  name  of  Briggs.  He  remembered  the 
history  of  poor  Briggs :  that  he  died  suddenly,  after  a 
week’s  debauch.  The  entries  on  the  leaf  were  as 
follows :  — 

“  Monday,  Sept.  5th.  To  one  quart  of  gin.  Price,  — 

Tuesday,  “  6th.  “  “  “  “  — 

Wednesday,  “  7th.  “  “  “  “  — 

Thursday,  “  8th.  “  “  “  — 

Friday,  “  9th.  “  “  “  “  — 

Saturday,  “  10th.  To  five  yards  cloth,  for 

winding  sheet,  “  — ” 

Thus  it  appeared  from  the  account  that  poor  Briggs 
had  been  regularly  furnished  with  a  quart  of  liquor  per 
day  for  five  days  in  succession  ;  that  during  the  night  of 
the  fifth  day,  Friday,  he  had  died,  and  that  on  Saturday 
the  family  had  been  furnished,  at  the  same  store,  with 
his  winding  sheet,  or  the  cloth  of  which  to  make  it.  As 
in  the  last  line  of  the  “  address,”  I  had  bidden  the  liq¬ 
uor  seller  return  from  the  grave  of  his  victim,  and  look 
over  his  account-books,  it  seemed  quite  proper  that  I 
should  inquire  what  he  found  written  there,  and  I, 
therefore,  added  the  following  lines  :  — 

How  doth  the  account  for  his  last  week  begin  ? 

“  Monday,  Sept.  5th,  one  quart  of  gin,” 

A  like  amount,  for  each  succeeding  day, 

Tells  on  the  book,  but  wears  his  life  away. 

Saturday’s  charge  makes  out  the  account  complete, 


40 


THEY  DISLIKE  BUT  PATRONISE  HIM. 


To  cloth,  Jive  yards  to  make  a  winding-sheet. 

There,  all  stands  fair,  without  mistake  or  flaw, 

How  honest  trade  will  thrive,  upheld  by  law  1 

It  will  doubtless  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  by 
such  plain  utterances  of  truth,  I  did  not  lose  the  patron¬ 
age  of  the  liquor  traders.  They  knew  that  I  was  right 
and  that  they  were  wrong,  and  they  seemed  to  have 
more  respect  for  me,  the  more  distinctly  I  set  forth  the 
wickedness  of  their  course.  Beside  this,  I  think  they 
preferred  the  services  of  a  physician  who  never  swal¬ 
lowed  the  villainous  compounds  they  sold.  They  saw, 
every  day,  in  their  places  of  business,  the  effects  which 
liquors  produced  upon  the  reasoning  powers  of  those 
who  drank  them,  and  they  shrewdly  enough  concluded 
that  the  use  of  their  liquors  would  not  materially  aid  a 
man  in  the  investigation  of  the  causes  and  nature  of 
disease,  and  in  the  choice  of  means  for  its  removal. 


o 


REV  THOS.  P.  HUNT. 


CHAPTER  III. 


A  Visitor — Thomas  P.  Hunt — His  speech  at  Aponaug — “  An  excel¬ 
lent  sentiment,  madam” — Facing  the  question — Yes  or  no  ? — He 
loves  but  votes  against  it — A  victory  for  rum — An  “  Open  House  ” 
— A  son<;  furnished  gratis. 

During  the  year,  I  was  strengthened  and  comforted 
by  a  visit  from  the  Rev.  Thomas  P.  Hunt  of  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  who  had  become  quite  distinguished  as  an  advocate 
of  the  cause  in  that  and  other  of  the  Middle  States.  I 
was  most  happy  to  entertain  and  confer  with  him.  I 
arranged  appointments  for  him  at  a  number  of  points  in 
my  neighborhood,  and  was  delighted  to  find  the  views  I 
had  taken  of  the  whole  liquor  system  so  ably  defended 
by  this  devoted  and  excellent  man.  There  are  few  men 
living  in  our  country  who  have  considered  the  whole 
subject  so  thoughtfully  and  earnestly  as  this  early  advo¬ 
cate  of  our  cause.  His  visit  to  me,  and  the  long  and 
earnest  discussion  we  had  in  relation  to  the  various 
phases  which  the  enterprise  then  presented,  constituted 
an  era  in  my  life,  as  an  humble  worker  in  the  cause. 
His  personal  influence  was  more  potent  with  me  than 
that  of  any  other  man,  I  had  almost  said  of  all  other 
men,  in  inducing  me,  at  a  later  period,  to  abandon  my 
profession,  and  devote  myself  to  the  public  advocacy  of 
abstinence  from  intoxicating  liquors. 

That  the  reader  may  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  subject  was  treated  in  public  by 

(41) 


42 


THOMAS  P.  HUNT. 


“  Father  Hunt,”  I  will  report  the  introductory  portion 
of  his  lecture  at  the  village  of  Apponaug  in  Warwick, 
R.  I.  I  only  regret  that  with  the  words,  I  cannot  give 
his  appearance  before  the  audience,  the  expression  of 
his  countenance,  especially  of  the  eye,  than  which  few 
keener  are  ever  set  in  human  heads,  and  the  tone  of  his 
voice,  at  once  very  peculiar  and  very  impressive.  There 
are  doubtless  many  citizens  of  Warwick  living,  who 
heard  the  address,  and  I  am  very  certain  they  would,  if 
required,  testify  to  the  accuracy  of  my  report,  made 
after  the  lapse  of  thirty-five  years. 

“  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  If  last  evening,  delivered  a 
discourse  at  Washington  Factory  Tillage  in  the  town  of 
Coventry.  As  I  was  quite  at  leisure  during  the  after¬ 
noon  preceding  the  lecture,  I  proposed  to  walk  out  for  a 
little  exercise.  A  friend  suggested  that  I  might  do 
some  service  to  the  people  of  the  village,  perhaps,  by 
calling  on  Mr.  Capwell,  the  keeper  of  the  hotel,  and 
having  a  talk  with  him.  He  was  represented  to  me  as 
a  very  clever  sort  of  a  man,  good  natured,  not  at  all  in¬ 
clined  to  be  abusive,  and  it  was  thought  my  words 
might  be  of  service  to  him.  I  called  upon  him ;  intro¬ 
duced  myself  as.,  the  person  who  was  to  speak  on  tem¬ 
perance  in  the  evening,  and  found  him  disposed  to  listen 
to  me  with  patience  and  candor.  I  told  him  I  had  been 
informed  that  he  was  the  possessor  of  considerable  real 
estate  in  the  village,  and  assured  him  that  whatever 
should  have  the  effect  to  lessen  the  intelligence  of  the 
people,  and  to  lower  the  standard  of  public  morals,  as  I 
was  quite  sure  his  traffic  would  do,  though  he  might  not 
intend  it,  would  most  certainly  diminish  the  value  of  his 
j  tal  estate,  as  it  would  render  the  village  a  less  desira- 


HIS  SPEECH  AT  APPONAUG. 


43 


ble  place  of  residence.  And  I  suggested  to  him  that, 
in  the  long  run,  he  would  lose  more  by  this  depreciation 
of  property,  than  he  would  gain,  directly,  by  his  traffic. 
He  was  listening  to  me  with  evident  interest,  and  I 
could  not  but  hope  I  was  making  a  favorable  impression 
on  his  mind,  when,  all  at  once,  a  side  door  opened,  and 
a  little  bit  of  a  woman  rushed  into  the  room  so  swiftly, 
that  her  cap  border  was  turned  back  on  her  head  by  the 
current  of  air  she  created,  and  in  a  very  excited  manner 
and  with  a  very  shrill  voice,  she  exclaimed,  4  I  do  wish 
that  people  would  mind  their  own  business.’  Taken 
quite  aback  for  the  moment  by  this  startling  introduc¬ 
tion  and  speech,  I  replied,  4  Well,  madam,  and  so  do 
I!  I  agree  with  you  exactly,  madam.  That  is  an  excel¬ 
lent  sentiment  of  yours.  I  approve  of  it  everywhere 
and  always.  I  am  a  temperance  lecturer,  madam,  and 
you  see  now,  that  while  I  am  persuading  this  gentleman, 
your  husband,  very  likely,  madam,  to  abandon  the  sale 
of  liquors,  which  make  men  drunk,  I  was  laboring  right 
along  in  the  line  of  my  business.  You  see  I  agree  with 
you  entirely.  That  is  an  excellent  sentiment  of  yours. 
One  reason  why  I  labor  to  persuade  men  to  leave  off 
drinking,  is  because  the  use  of  liquor  does,  notoriously, 
lead  men  to  neglect  their  business.  For  instance,  here 
is  a  carpenter.  He  has  a  fine  shop  and  good  tools.  He 
is  himself  a  good  workman,  and  has  not  only  apprenti¬ 
ces  to  aid  him,  but  also  skilled  workmen.  He  ought  to 
do  a  large  business,  but  he  does  not.  What  is  the 
trouble  ?  The  public  know  that  he  is  a  free  drinker,  and 
that  he  has,  frequently,  in  the  midst  of  an  important 
job,  gone  off  on  a  spree,  and  the  work  has  stopped  in 
consequence.  Business  men  don’t  like  to  intrust  him 


44  “  AN  EXCELLENT  SENTIMENT,  MADAM.” 

important  jobs  on  that  account.  Now  don’t  you  see 
that  if  I  could  induce  that  clever  carpenter  to  leave  off 
drinking,  he  would,  thereafter,  mind  Ms  own  business. 
You  see  I  agree  with  you,  exactly,  madam.’  Just  here 
she  turned  upon  her  heel  and  rushed  out  of  the  room, 
not  even  stopping  to  bid  me  good  afternoon.  I  felt  ag¬ 
grieved  at  it.  I  naturally  like  the  ladies,  and  love  to  be 
in  agreement  with  them  always  when  I  can.  And  when, 
as  in  this  case  I  take  great  pains  to  prove  that  I  am  in 
accord  with  them,  I  like  to  have  the  fact  appreciated, 
and  to  be  treated  with  courtesy.”  By  this  time,  my 
readers  will  believe  me  that  all  eyes  were  riveted  upon 
that  little  crooked  man,  with  the  large  mouth  and  the 
lightning  eyes,  and  that  all  ears  were  open  to  hear 
words  of  instruction  from  him. 

The  public  mind  had,  by  this  time,  become  so  far 
enlightened  in  relation  to  the  liquor  traffic,  that  the 
people  of  Rhode  Island  clamored  for  the  abrogation  of 
the  license  system.  The  question  of  license  or  no  li¬ 
cense  was  referred  to  the  several  towns  by  act  of  the 
Legislature,  and  was  to  be  decided  by  the  popular  vote. 
That  style  of  legislation,  whatever  may  be  said  against 
it  otherwise,  brings  to  the  masses  of  voters,  very  di¬ 
rectly,  a  sense  of  their  individual  responsibility,  which 
is  apt  to  be  lost  sight  of  when  they  act  on  this  question 
through  others,  who  are  elected  as  party  men,  and  may, 
perhaps,  have  other  important  duties  to  perform  besides 
deciding  for  or  against  license.  There  is  no  chance, 
however,  for  casting  on  others  the  responsibility  of  the 
voter,  when  the  vote  is  not  for  or  against  certain  men, 
but  directly  for  or  against  licensing  liquor  shops. 
When  a  man,  about  to  vote  on  that  question,  writes 


FACING  THE  QUESTION, — YES  OR  NO  ?  45 

“  yes  ”  on  his  ballot,  lie  knoivs  that  he  is  to  become  in 
part  responsible  for  whatever  mischief  the  liquor  traffic 
may  cause  during  the  year  ;  and  if  he  votes  “  No”  he 
feels  that  thus  he  rids  himself  of  personal  responsibility 
for  the  continuance  of  the  traffic  so  far  as  voting  is  con¬ 
cerned.  It  was  interesting  and  instructive  to  see  how 
different  men  deported  themselves  at  the  polls  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  this  matter.  Mr.  A.  loves  his  glass,  but  last 
wTeek  his  daughter  came  home  to  her  father’s  house  with 
two  or  three  helpless  children,  as  she  dared  not  longer 
live  with  her  drunken  husband.  How  does  he  vote  to¬ 
day  ?  Watch  him.  Good!  He  decides  for  the  loved 
ones  at  home,  and  against  the  liquor  shop.  Mr.  B.,who 
has  one  drunken  son,  and  two  others  rapidly  approach¬ 
ing  the  same  condition,  goes  the  other  way  and  votes 
for  license.  God  have  mercy  upon  him !  What  will 
the  poor  man  do  or  say  when  he  follows  that  eldest  son, 
the  drunkard,  to  the  grave,  as  he  probably  will  very 
soon  ?  Can  he,  by  any  sort  of  reasoning,  bring  himself 
to  believe  that  he  had  no  hand  in  the  ruin  of  his  son, 
when  his  example,  arguments,  and  vote,  all  helped  to 
fasten  the  chain  upon  him,  and  to  sustain  the  system 
which  .put  the  cup  of  poison  to  his  lip  ?  Perhaps  he 
may.  When  men  reason  with  the  stomach  instead  of 
the  brain,  there  is  no  knowing  what  conclusions  they 
may  arrive  at.  It  is  well  to  have  the  line  drawn  so 
that  every  man  may  know  exactly  where  he  stands  in 
relation  to  this  as  well  as  other  important  matters.  So 
thought  Elijah,  “  How  long  halt  ye  between  two  opin¬ 
ions  ?  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him,  but  if  Baal 
then  follow  him.”  So  in  relation  to  the  liquor  system. 
If  it  be  a  blessing,  sustain  it,  if  a  curse,  destroy  it. 


46  A  VICTORY  FOR  RUM — AN  66  OPEN  HOUSE.” 

•  , 

Thus  in  Rhode  Island,  for  a  time,  we  had  a  clean 
issue.  In  some  towns  we  were  beaten.  Warwick,  the 
town  in  which  I  resided,  was  one  of  them,  but  in  almost 
every  case  where  the  liquor  party  prevailed,  its  leaders 
made  such  use  of  their  victory  as  to  disgust  the  more 
decent  part  of  the  voters  who  helped  them  to  secure  it. 
Some  liquor  dealer  would  keep  open  house  for  the  day 
or  evening  after  the  victory,  and  with  free  liquor  the 
drinking  and  rejoicing  would  extend  far  into  the  night, 
and  end,  perhaps,  with  a  row,  thus  uttering  the  con¬ 
demnation  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  a  language  quite  as 
emphatic  as  could  be  employed  by  its  most  sturdy  oppo¬ 
nents.  The  evening  after  the  triumph  of  the  liquor 
party  in  Warwick,  a  portion  of  the  rank  and  file  had  a 
jollification  at  a  certain  establishment  in  Centreville. 
The  presiding  genius,  who  there  dispensed  liquors,  on 
returning  from  the  town  meeting,  sent  out  word  that  he 
should  keep  open  house  that  evening,  and  that  there 
would  be  a  free  drink  for  all.  Wishing  to  aid  my 
neighbors  in  giving  a  fitting  expression  to  their  joy  on 
this  occasion,  I  hastily  penned  a  few  stanzas,  and  sent  a 
copy  over  by  a  friend  for  the  use  of  the  company.  It 
was  entitled 

THE  GROG-SELLERS’  INVITATION. 

Ye  friends  of  grog,  rejoice,  rejoice  ! 

Tlie  work,  the  glorious  work  is  done, 

Raise  high  each  trembling  stammering  voice. 

The  battle’s  fought,  and  we  have  won  ! 

Ye  old  established  bruisers  come, 

With  purple  blossoms  on  each  nose, 


A  SONG  FURNISHED  GRATIS. 


47 


My  house  this  day  shall  be  your  home, 

Rejoice  with  us  o’er  fallen  foes ! 

Other  stanzas  of  kindred  character  followed,  and  my 
contribution  to  the  interest  of  the  joyful  occasion, 
closed,  I  remember,  as  follows : 

What  though  our  wives  should  scold  and  fret, 

Blows,  well  applied,  will  cool  their  spunk. 

While  rum  our  parching  throats  can  wet, 

Rejoice  and  be  exceeding — drunk  1 


CHAPTER  I V. 


A  CONTROVERSY. 

A  £t  Plucky  ”  Wholesaler — Retreating,  he  gets  “  a  shell” — A  retailer 
hit — Rinsing  the  glasses — Providence  votes  down  the  traffic — 
A  laughable  incident — The  way  to  do  it — A  shot  that  hit — En¬ 
listing  a  Sharp  Shooter — He  hits  the  “  bull’s  eye” — “  Crack  up” — 
Shoot,  but  don’t  hurt  folks — “Father  Bonney’s”  Prayer — First  ex¬ 
temporaneous  Speech. 

While  residing  at  Centerville,  I  had  a  controversy 
with  one  of  the  most  respectable  of  the  liquor  traders 
in  Providence — Capt.  Samuel  Young — in  relation  to 
the  character  of  that  traffic,  whether  beneficial  and 
moral  or  otherwise.  Its  origin  was  as  follows : 

A  resolution  of  the  Providence  Temperance  Society, 
urging  all  friends  of  the  cause  to  withdraw  their  patron¬ 
age  from  grocers  who  sold  liquor,  provoked  the  ire  of 
Capt.  Young,  and  through  the  columns  of  the  ‘‘Provi¬ 
dence  Courier'’  he  attacked  the  society  for  passing  that 
resolution.  Some  friend  sent  me  a  copy  of  the  “  Couri¬ 
er,”  and  directed  my  attention  to  the  communication  of 
Capt.  Young  by  marking  the  article.  I  replied  to  it 
over  my  own  signature,  and  in  the  conclusion  of  my 
communication,  invited  him  to  a  further  discussion  of 
the  subject.  I  had  long  desired  an  opportunity  of  pre¬ 
senting  my  view  of  the  liquor  system  to  the  public 
through  such  a  channel  and  under  such  circumstances 
(48) 


THE  PLUCKY  WHOLESALER. 


49 


as  would  insure  the  thorough  perusal  of  what  I  should 
write.  Here,  now,  was  the  opportunity,  if  Capt.  Young 
would  but  stand  fire.  This,  1  feared,  he  would  not  do  ; 
but  I  was  mistaken.  He  was  an  honest  and  earnest 
man,  and  believed  he  was  quite  right  in  selling  articles 
which  more  than  half  the  community  consumed,  and 
should  he  fear  4o  defend  his  business  when  assailed  ? 
Not  he.  The  controversy  continued  for  some  weeks, 
and  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  “  Courier”  remarked 
to  me,  years  afterwards,  that  his  paper  was  never  in 
such  demand  as  during  that  discussion. 

At  length  the  liquor  dealers  of  the  city  began  to  com¬ 
plain,  as  I  was  informed,  that  the  discussion  would  do 
more  harm  than  good,  that  is,  to  their  interests,  and  for 
Capt.  Young’s  spirited  advocacy  of  the  traffic  they  were 
not  disposed  to  be  grateful.  He  proposed  to  drop  the 
subject,  and  designated  a  certain  article  as  the  last  he 
should  write.  In  that  article  he  had  resorted  to  a  style 
of  discussion  which  fairly  absolved  me,  as  I  judged, 
from  any  obligation  to  treat  him  or  the  subject,  in  closing 
the  controversy,  with  special  delicacy.  I  therefore  bore 
down  on  the  retreating  enemy  with  the  heaviest  guns  at 
my  command,  and  some  of  my  friends  fancied  that  they 
saw  splinters  fly.  It  may  have  been  a  mistake,  however. 
At  any  rate,  the  brave  captain  survived,  and  for  some 
years  continued  to  deal  in  liquors.  Although  most  of  his 
sales  were  in  quantities  to  be  taken  at  once  from  the 
store,  he  sold  some  by  the  glass,  and  there  was  in  the 
young  doctor’s  concluding  article  a  malicious  fling  at  the 
glass-trade.  After  having  spoken  of  the  retail  liquor 
trade  in  terms  which  many  men  thought  abusive,  he 
grew  poetical,  and  added  : 

3' 


50 


A  RETAILER  IIIT. 


“  I ’d  sooner  black  my  visage  o’er 

And  put  the  shine  on  boots  and  shoes, 

Than  stand  within  a  liquor  store 

And  rinse  the  glasses  drunkards  use.” 

The  conclusion  of  my  last  article,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
recollect,  was  as  follows :  “I  have  sought  to  present  to 
your  mind,  in  their  proper  light,  the  inevitable  results 
of  the  terrible  business  in  which  you  are  engaged.  If, 
in  view  of  those  results,  and  from  a  proper  regard  for 
the  welfare  of  the  community  of  which  you  are  a  citizen, 
you  will  now  abandon  that  business,  all  may  be  well. 
God  may  forgive,  and  an  injured  people  may  forget,  the 
past.  But  if*  you  shall  still  determine  to  distribute 
maddening  poisons  among  the  people,  to  scatter  fire¬ 
brands,  arrows  and  death  around  you,' what  I  have  to 

say  to  you  in  conclusion  is  this : 

* 

“  Go  on,  be  rich,  even  to  your  heart’s  desire, 

And  grasp  with  greedy  hand  each  worldly  good ; 

But  know,  thy  God  will  at  thy  hands  require 
Thy  brother’s  blood.” 

Writers  on  war  tell  us  that  not  one  bullet  in  a  hundred 
of  those  hurled  in  battle  hits  or  kills  a  soldier.  How 
that  may  be  I  know  not,  but  I  was  gratified  that  one  of 
my  shots  at  the  liquor  traffic  in  this  controversy  (I  had 
not  discharged  an  hundred,)  brought  down  one  of  the 
enemy’s  infantry.  A  young  man  engaged  in  keeping  a 
drinking  saloon,  was  led  by  reading  my  concluding 
article,  to  abandon  the  business,  and  told  his  friends 
what  particular  missile  it  was  that  hit  him.  It  was  the 
line  about  rinsing  tumblers  for  drunkards.  He  said 
that  when  he  first  read  those  words  (it  was  in  the  eve- 


RINSING  THE  GLASSES. 


51 


ning,)  they  filled  him  with  rage.  On  the  following 
morning  he  went  to  his  saloon  as  usual,  brushed  down 
the  shelves,  saw  that  the  decanters  were  all  filled, 
and  waited  for  customers.  Presently  a  poor  degraded 
wretch  walked  in  and  wanted  a  drink.  He  furnished  it, 
dropped  the  price  into  the  change  drawer,  and  set  up 
the  decanter.  But  there  was  something  more  to  be  done 
to  complete  the  operation.  That  glass  must  be  rinsed 
and  set  up.  He  grasped  the  tumbler  in  the  usual  way, 
with  the  fore-finger  pressing  the  inside  and  the  thumb 
and  middle  finger  the  outside,  and  with  the  customary 
flourish,  rinsed  it  in  the  water  in  the  little  tub  on  the 
counter.  He  said  that  no  sooner  had  the  glass  touched 
the  water  than  the  troublesome  line,  “And  rinse  the 
glasses  drunkards  use,”  rushed  through  his  memory. 
“Alas,”  thought  he,  “  it  is  too  true.  I  am,  indeed,  a 
tumbler-washer  for  drunkards  !  Great  business,  that ! 
How  elevating,  how  ennobling  !  ”  Another  toper  came 
in,  and  the  operation  was  repeated.  “And  rinse  the 
glasses  drunkards  use.”  Every  time  he  put  a  tumbler 
into  that  little  tub,  those  words  would  sing  themselves 
through  his  brain.  The  dinner-hour  at  length  arrived. 
He  closed  the  saloon  and  started  for  his  boarding-house, 
first  brushing  his  hair  and  coat  and  pulling  up  his 
dickey,  for  who  could  tell  but  that  he  might  meet  a  cer¬ 
tain  very  pretty  girl  in  his  journey.  As  he  tripped  along 
with  nimble  step  and  head  erect,  that  mischievous  line 
dashed  through  his  brain  again,  and  down  came  his  eye 
to  the  flag-stones.  He  felt  so  ashamed,  he  said,  in  re¬ 
viewing  the  labor  of  the  forenoon,  that  he  could  scarcely 
hold  up  his  head  or  look  a  friend  in  the  face.  He  saw, 
at  once  that  he  could  not  follow  the  business  longer 


52 


PROVIDENCE  VOTES  DOWN  THE  TRAFFIC. 


and  preserve  the  smallest  particle  of  self-respect,  and  he 
resolved  immediately  to  abandon  it.  He  sold  out  di¬ 
rectly,  and  told  a  friend  what  it  was  that  opened  his 
eyes  to  the  ineffable  meanness  of  such  a  calling. 

The  contest  for  and  against  license  in  the  City  of 
Providence  was  a  memorable  one,  and  the  anti-license 
party  were  victorious.  The  dealers  in  liquors  and  their 
most  devoted  adherents  were  sorely  disappointed  by  the 
result,  as,  before  the  day  of  voting  they  felt  quite  sure 
of  carrying  the  city.  After  the  decision  was  known 
there  was  a  manifest  depression  of  spirits  among  them. 
They  were  less  defiant  than  before,  and,  had  the  proper 
measures  been  adopted  then  to  keep  in  active  exercise 
the  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  liquor  traffic  which  had  thus 
been  distinctly  manifested,  and  to  increase  largely  the 
educational  branch  of  the  enterprise  as  distinct  from  the 
legal  or  repressive,  I  doubt  if  there  could  ever  have  been 
any  serious  movement  of  a  retrograde  character  in  the 
State . 

The  difficulty  lies  in  making  the  influential  and  busi¬ 
ness  men  of  the  community  feel  that  this  great  and 
needful  enterprise  has  a  just  claim  upon  a  portion  of 
their  time,  their  thoughts  and  the  contents  of  their  purses 
as  much,  aye,  far  more,  than  any  other  benevolent  enter¬ 
prise  of  the  age,  inasmuch  as  it  has  to  do,  not  only 
with  the  public  health  and  public  morals,  with  the  in¬ 
terests  of  education  and  religion,  but  is  a  needful  pro¬ 
tection  for  their  own  sons  and  daughters,  as  well  as  their 
business  interests.  In  some  particulars  the  advocates 
of  license  and  free  use  of  liquors  have  the  advantage  of 
us.  The  public  meetings  in  which  we  educate  and  press 
forward  our  friends  to  more  vigorous  warfare  on  the 


A  LAUGHABLE  INCIDENT. 


53 


liquor  system,  rarely  occur  oftener  than  once  a  week  ; 
theirs  are  held  daily,  and  nightly  as  well.  Where  we 
have  rarely  more  than  one  gathering  in  a  village  at  the 
same  hour,  they  often  have  a  dozen.  They  advocate 
self-indulgence  ;  we  preach  self-denial. 

A  laughable  incident  occurred  in  Providence  growing 
out  of  the  decision  adverse  to  license  which  should  not 
be  forgotten.  A  poor  fellow  was  seen  on  Christian  Hill, 
in  the  western  part  of  the  city,  and  near  the  old  Hoyle 
tavern,  digging  industriously  at  the  foot  of  a  certain 
pole,  just  at  the  forks  of  the  street. 

“  Halloo  !  What  are  you  doing  there  ?  ”  asked  a  gen¬ 
tleman  who  happened  to  be  passing  by. 

The  poor  fellow,  who  was  very  much  excited  by  recent 
events  and  the  free  use  of  rum,  looked  up  sadly  in  the 
face  of  his  questioner,  and  replied : 

“Our  liberties  are  all — hie — taken  away,  and  it’s 
only  a  mo — mockery  to  have  liberty-poles  sticking  up 
about  the — hie — city,  when  we  have  got  no  liberty, 
and  I’m  going  to  dig  ’em  down.” 

“  Liberty-poles,  indeed !  you  blockhead,”  replied  the 
gentleman ;  “  why,  look  up  and  see  what  is  over  your 
head.” 

The  digger  turned  his  face  upward,  and  lo!  there 
swung  the  tavern  sign.  He  had  mistaken  its  supporting 
post  for  the  liberty-pole.  The  digging  was,  of  course, 
suspended,  and  the  poor  afflicted  apostle  of  liberty  found 
some  other  way,  probably,  by  which  to  express  his  grief. 
The  event  was  celebrated  in  some  temperance  rhymes 
which  found  place  in  the  next  number  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Temperance  Herald. 

Yes,  dig  it  down,  ply  well  the  spade, 

And  make  it  bow  its  haughty  head.  ” 


54 


THE  WAY  TO  DO  IT. 


The  article  is  hardly  worthy  of  insertion  here  entire, 
but  is  referred  to,  to  make  my  readers  acquainted  with 
an  important  part  of  the  policy  of  the  temperance 
workers  of  that  early  period.  It  was,  to  seize  upon  and 
employ  every  local  occurrence  which  could  be  used  to 
interest  the  popular  mind  in  favor  of  temperance,  and 
make  a  little  capital  against  a  ruinous  system. 

That  mode  of  warfare  on  the  liquor  system,  or  its  ac¬ 
tive  supporters,  is  not,  I  think,  practiced  so  extensively 
now  as  at  the  period  referred  to.  Firmness,  fearless¬ 
ness,  a  good  share  of  practical  wisdom,  and  considerable 
caution,  is  needful  to  render  it  safe  and  effective.  Of 
course,  there  are  no  good  reasons  why  a  dealer  in 
liquors  should  not  be  held  responsible  before  the  com¬ 
munity  for  the  influence  of  his  traffic,  and  he  has  no 
just  grounds  of  complaint  when  one  of  his  customers 
butchers  his  neighbor,  or,  it  may  be,  his  wife,  or  cuts 
his  own  throat  in  the  frenzy  of  drunken  delirium,  if,  in 
giving  the  facts  to  the  world,  through  the  press,  or  oth¬ 
erwise,  the  public  are  informed  that  he  filled  the  jug,  or 
bottle,  for  the  murderer  or  suicide  a  few  hours,  perhaps, 
before  the  terrible  event. 

Yet  nothing  troubles  a  rum-seller  in  a  country  town 
or  village  more  than  such  an  expose  of  his  heartlessness. 
In  such  localities  each  man  is  known  to  every  other, 
•and  to  have  the  indignant  gaze  of  every  decent  and 
moral  man  in  the  neighborhood  turned  full  upon  him  as 
m  active  and  guilty  agent  in  such  bloody  work,  and 
that,  too,  while  perhaps  the  unburied  dead  is  still  above 
ground  to  confront  him  and  sear  his  eye-balls,  it  is  terrible 
to  a  man  who  has  left  to  him  even  the  shred  of  a  con¬ 
science,  and  who  has  not  utterly  lost,  as  few  indeed  have, 


A  SHOT  THAT  HIT. 


55 


all  regard  for  the  good  opinions  of  those  around  them. 
If  we  except  legal  prosecutions,  which,  when  frequent 
and  successful,  take  from  the  liquor-seller  his  ill-gotten 
gains,  and  thus  make-  his  traffic  a  losing  business  for 
him,  and  sometimes  shut  him  up  in  the  House  of  Correc¬ 
tion,  no  measures,  which  I  have  ever  employed  to  induce 
men  to  abandon  the  liquor  traffic,  have  been  so  frequently 
effective  as  those  above  indicated. 

To  illustrate  further  my  own  method  of  personal 
labor  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause,  the  following  in¬ 
cidents  may  serve  : — 

Journeying  across  the  State  on  a  cold  winter’s  day,  I 
stopped  at  a  public  house  to  have  my  horse  fed.  While 
warming  myself  by  the  bar-room  fire,  I  noticed  within 
the  bar,  on  the  edge  of  a  shelf  loaded  with  decanters 
and  bottles  of  liquor,  the  following  words.  They  had 
been  printed  with  full-faced  type  on  a  strip  of  paper,  and 
the  paper  pasted  on  the  edge  of  the  shelf : — 

NO  CSfcEIMT  GIVEN  HE  HE. 

After  reflecting  for  a  while  on  the  matter,  and  arrang¬ 
ing  in  my  mind  some  thoughts  concerning  it,  I  addressed 
myself  to  the  landlord,  who  was  the  only  person  in  the 
room  beside  myself,  thus  : — 

“  Landlord,”  said  I,  pointing  to  the  inscription  above, 
“  I  see  that  you  bring  your  customers  right  up  to  the 
chalk,  and  don’t  plague  yourself  with  book-keeping.” 

“  Oh,  yes,”  he  replied,  and  added  :  “  In  the  sale  of 
liquors  these  days  it  won’t  do  to  give  credit.  If  you 
don’t  get  your  pay  down,  from  the  cjass  that  buy  liquors 
now,  you  will  never  get  it.” 

“I  think  you  are  right,  there ,”  said  I,  “but  you 


56 


ENLISTING  A  SHARPSHOOTER. 


might  add  a  few  words  which  would  improve  your  in¬ 
scription,  and  render  it  more  striking  and  impressive.” 

“  What  would  you  add  ?”  inquired  he,  apparently 
quite  interested. 

“  Give  me  a  pen  and  paper,”  said  I,  “  and  I  will  show 
you.” 

“  Just  step  to  the  desk  within  the  bar,”  said  he,  “and 
you  will  find  paper,  ink,  and  pen.” 

I  followed  his  suggestion,  wrote  out  in  a  single  line 
his  inscription,  and  adding  three  other  lines  I  laid  down 
the  pen,  leaving  the  paper  on  the  desk,  and  returned  to 
my  seat  near  the  fire  somewhat  curious  to  know  how  he 
would  receive  my  proposed  amendment. 

He  walked  into  the  bar,  and  resting  his  arms  on  the 
desk,  (it  was  a  high  one,)  he  bent  over  the  writing  for 
some  moments,  and  when  he  turned  away  it  was  with  a 
subdued  and  saddened  countenance.  The  shot  had  evi¬ 
dently  struck  the  target,  his  conscience.  The  inscrip¬ 
tion,  as  improved,  read  thus  : — 

“  No  credit  given  here, — 

But  I  have  cause  to  fear 

That  there ’s  a  day-book  kept  in  Heaven, 

Where  charge  is  made  and  credit  given.” 

When,  from  lack  of  time  or  ability,  I  could  not  make 
recent  occurrences  available  to  create  a  spirit  of  hostility 
to  the  liquor  traffic,  it  has  ever  been  my  policy  to  em¬ 
ploy  as  far  as  possible  the  leisure  or  larger  abilities  of 
fellow-laborers  for  that  purpose.  A  successful  move 
of  that  sort  occurred  as  follows : 

One  of  the  churches  of  Providence  proposing  to  build 
a  new  house  of  worship,  sold  their  old  one.  It  was  pur- 


THE  CHURCH  POLLUTED. 


57 


chased  by  parties  who  had  less  regard  for  proprieties 
than  for  the  gains  of  a  ruinous  business,  and  they  con¬ 
verted  the  building  to  a  brewery.  I  stated  the  facts  by 
letter  to  a  young  friend  of  mine,  George  S.  Burleigh, 
residing  with  his  parents  at  his  native  place,  Plainfield, 
Conn.,  and  requested  him  to  give  fitting  expression  to 
the  feelings  which  such  a  sacrilegious  act  would  natu¬ 
rally  create  in  the  heart  of  any  well  constituted  individ¬ 
ual,  not  case-hardened  by  the  worship  of  Mammon,  or 
the  practice  of  degrading  vices.  I  received  directly  the 
following  poem,  which  for  justness  of  sentiment,  power 
of  thought,  and  true  poetic  expression,  will  bear  com¬ 
parison,  I  think,  wfith  any  poem  produced  on  this  conti¬ 
nent  by  a  writer  of  equal  age,  seventeen.  Equally  with 
the  older  and  more  widely  known  members  of  that 
talented  family,  he  has  by  example  and  precept,  by 
tongue  and  pen,  given  steady  and  substantial  support  to 
every  genuine  reform  of  our  time  and  country.  God 
bless  the  Burleigh  family,  and  grant  that  their  posterity 
through  coming  generations  may  never  dishonor  their 
ancestry  of  the  nineteenth  century.  That  is  as  much  as 
we  need  ask  or  hope  for. 

THE  CHURCH  POLLUTED. 

[Written  on  the  sacrilegious  conversion  of  a  Church  into  a  Brew¬ 
ery,  in  the  City  of  Providence ;  and  the  first  published  poem  of  the 
author,  George  S.  Burleigh.] 

God  of  the  holy,  pure,  and  just, 

How  are  thy  courts  dishonored  now, 

Thy  altars  trampled  in  the  dust, 

Where  holy  men  were  wont  to  bow, 

And  praise  was  heard  and  thanks  were  given, 

And  supplications  rose  to  Heaven  ! 


58 


THE  CHURCH  POLLUTED. 


Hushed  is  the  voice  of  warning  there, 

The  swelling  song,  the  spiritual  hymn. 

The  morning  and  the  evening  prayer 
That  rose  above  the  arches  dim, 

And  sacrilegious  ruin  smiles 
Amid  the  desolated  aisles. 

Rude  hands  have  marred  the  hallowed  walls 
Where  loud  Hosannas  oft  have  rung, 

And  sons  of  Behai  crowd  the  halls, 

And  work  those  holy  things  among; 

And  fires  of  death  are  burning  on 
•  The  fragments  of  thine  altar-stone. 

There  man  shall  hear  no  more  again 
The  voices  of  thanksgiving  rise ; 

That  “  house  is  made  the  robber’s  den,” 
Those  courts  “  a  place  of  merchandize }  ” 
And  vile  blasphemers  gather  where 
The  holy  man  once  bent  in  prayer. 

The  losel  song,  the  scoff  and  jeer, 

Shall  rise  with  sounds  of  drunken  strife, 
And  bitter  curses  greet  the  ear, 

Where  once  were  heard  the  words  of  life, 
And  praise  was  given  from  heart  and  lip, 

By  men  in  holy  fellowship. 

And  where  the  child  was  taught  to  go 
To  taste  the  streams  of  mercy  flowing, 
Will  pour  a  tide  of  death  and  woe 

More  blasting  than  the  siroc’s  blowing, 
And  burning  as  the  lava-tide 
That  sweeps  down  ^Etna’s  groaning  side. 

And  will  ye  all  in  silence  now 

The  weapons  of  your  warfare  bury, 

Nor  stamp  the  shame  upon  his  brow 
Who  thus  pollutes  the  sanctuary  ? 

Nay,  rather  with  new  zeal  press  on 
Until  the  victory  be  won. 


CRACK  UP. 


59 


And.  speak  for  yon  dishonored  hall 
Where  fast  will  pour  the  tide  of  woe, 

Or  even  the  stones  beneath  its  wall 
Will  frown  upon  ye  as  ye  go, 

And  every  tile  upon  its  roof 
Will  thunder  out  its  stern  reproof! 

The  following  incident,  and  the  use  I  made  of  it,  may 
serve  to  illustrate  further  my  method  of  turning  passing 
events  to  account  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  and 
the  instruction  of  the  parties  immediately  interested. 
While  serving  the  public  in  Rhode  Island,  I  had  occasion 
to  spend  the  night  at  the  village  of  Woonsocket,  and  as 
there  was  no  public  house  kept  in  the  village  on  tempe¬ 
rance  principles,  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  taking 
lodgings  at  a  hotel  where  intoxicating  liquors  were  fur¬ 
nished  to  all  who  desired  them.  Just  after  the  clock 
had  struck  the  hour  of  nine,  some  very  respectable  look¬ 
ing  gentlemen  who  were  sitting  around  the  bar-room 
fire,  engaged  in  an  exercise  which  they  called  “  cracking 
up.”  The  object  of  the  game  seemed  to  be  to  determine 
which  of  the  individuals  should  pay  for  the  drink  of  the 
company.  The  important  question  was  decided  by  the 
tossing  up  of  a  piece  of  coin  and  its  fall  near  or  remote 
from  a  certain  crack  in  the  floor  previously  designated. 
The  services  of  the  bar-keeper  wrere  then  required  to 
prepare  for  the  party  some  intoxicating  compound,  of 
which  each  swallowed  his  glass  with  evident  gusto.  It 
was  suggested  to  the  mind  of  the  writer,  while  the  scelie 
described  was  passing  before  him,  that  the  individuals 
thus  engaged  did  not,  in  their  minds,  associate  their 
practices  with  the  probable  consequences  to  those  con¬ 
nected  with  them  by  the  most  tender  ties.  The  following 


60 


CRACK  UP. 


article,  which  was  written  in  the  bar-room  immediately 
after  witnessing  the  interesting  ceremony,  and  which 
found  place  in  the  village  paper  the  following  day,  was 
intended  to  suggest  to  them  the  probable  consequences 
of  their  recklessness  and  folly. 

Crack  up !  crack  up !  tlie  clock  strikes  nine, 

We  have  not  drank  for  half  an  hour ; 

Say,  will  you  choose,  or  rum  or  wine, 

Or  brandy’s  stimulating  power  ? 

Come,  fill  the  glass 
And  let  it  pass, 

Till  sorrow,  care,  and  thought  are  gone, 

And  exiled  reason  quits  her  throne. 

Come,  jovial  boys,  crack  up  !  crack  up  1 
And  fill  again  the  maddening  cup. 

What  though  our  wives  sit  quite  alone, 

And  muse  on  hopes  and  pleasures  gone  ? 

Though  bitter  thoughts  their  bosoms  burn. 

The  while  they  wait  for  our  return. 

Let  all  that  pass, — 

Come,  fill  the  glass ; 

We’ll  drink  to  love  that  never  dies 
Till  from  our  hearts  alfection  flies. 

Crack  up !  crack  up !  come,  fill  again 
The  accursed  cup  with  liquid  fire ; 

And  now,  its  contents  let  us  drain 
To  sleeping  babes  and  hoary  sire ; 

.  To  mother  dear,  though  drowned  in  tears, 

And  bending  with  the  weight  of  years. 

Bid  sorrow  flee 
And  drink  with  glee, 

Though  babes  may  need  a  father’s  care 
From  wretchedness  and  want  to  save. 


SHOOT  BUT  DON’T  HIT  FOLKS.  6X 

And  though  we  bring  the  time-bleached  hair. 

Of  parents  sorrowing  to  the  grave. 

Come,  fill  again  the  accursed  cup, 

And  let  us  drain ;  Crack  up  !  crack  up ! 

My  first  extempore  speecli  was  made  in  Warren,  R.  I. 
It  is  quite  an  era  in  tlie  life  of  one  who  is  destined  to 
devote  years  to  the  business  of  public  teaching  from  the 
platform  or  desk,  when  surrounding  circumstances  enable 
him,  for  the  first  time,  to  emancipate  himself  from  the 
slavery  of  notes.  While  acting  as  agent  of  the  Rhode 
Island  State  Society,  I  visited  the  town  of  Warren.  I 
was  entertained  at  the  home  of  a  clergyman,  the  pastor 
of  a  large  church  in  town,  whose  congregation  embraced 
a  number  of  men  pretty  largely  engaged  in  the  liquor 
business.  If  my  memory  is  not  at  fault,  one  of  them 
was  a  distiller.  With  the  business,  which  I  should  be 
likely  to  condemn,  so  largely  represented  in  his  flock, 
he  was  deeply  anxious,  of  course,  to  have  the  lecture  of 
the  most  unexceptionable  character. 

The  hour  for  the  meeting  at  length  arrived,  and  dur¬ 
ing  our  walk  from  his  house  to  the  church  he  took  oc¬ 
casion  to  express  to  me,  in  the  kindest  possible  way,  his 
views  as  to  the  proper  manner  of  handling  the  subject. 
He  thought  the  conciliatory  method  the  best ;  that  severe 
denunciation  of  men,  even  manifestly  wrong,  rarely  bene¬ 
fited  them  or  others. 

I  was  troubled.  I  did  not  wish  to  stir  up  a  tempest 
in  his  congregation,  and  yet  there  was  a  great  duty  to 
be  performed,  to  set  forth  the  truths  of  this  important 
subject  faithfully.  I  repeat,  I  was  troubled  and  not  a 
little  embarrassed.  The  church  was  crowded,  and  a 
superannuated  clergyman  of  the  Methodist  church,  good 


62 


FATHER  BONNEY’S  PRAEYR. 


old  Father  Bonney,  was  requested  to  offer  prayer.  He 
ascended  the  pulpit  and  prayed  ;  and  it  was  a  prayer  in¬ 
deed,  such  as  sometimes  lifts  a  man  off  his  feet  to  an 
elevation  from  which  he  seems  to  see  the  earth  and  its 
little  ant-like  inhabitants  and  insignificant  affairs  as  a 
sort  of  dissolving  view  beneath  him.  He  asked  his 
Father  and  our  Father  for  just  what  he  wanted  and  for 
nothing  he  did  not  want.  For  the  poor  drunkard  he 
besought  restraining  and  reforming  grace.  For  the  suf¬ 
fering  wife,  the  grace  of  patience  and  a  Christian  hope 
for  a  more  happy  future.  For  the  neglected,  shamed, 
and  abused  children,  that  God  would,  in  mercy,  preserve 
them  from  the  contaminating  influence  of  a  wretched 
father’s  example.  Nor  did  he  forget  the  distillers  and 
liquor  sellers  of  Warren.  It  was  a  sensible  prayer  for 
just  those  -blessings  which  all  praying  people  in  that 
assembly  had  just  then  in  mind,  and,  of  course,  their 
hearts  responded  to  the  words  of  the  supplicant.  No 
mention  was  made  in  that  earnest  petition  of  the  Sand¬ 
wich  or  the  Fejee  Islands,  of  the  missions  in  heathen 
lands,  or  of  any  matter  entirely  foreign  to  the  occasion, 
as  there  generally  is  in  the  prayers  of  men  wha  have  no 
hearty  interest  in  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  yet  are 
asked  to  pray  for  it. 

The  voice  of  the  old  man  ceased,  and  all  my  trouble 
and  embarrassment  was  gone.  I  arose  to  address  the 
congregation  with  my  manuscript  before  me.  Some¬ 
thing,  however,  I  wished  to  say  on  points  of  local  inter¬ 
est,  which  were  not  touched  in  the  manuscript.  I  would, 
therefore,  say  a  few  words  on  these  by  way  of  prelimin¬ 
ary.  I  became  interested  in  the  points  I  was  consider¬ 
ing,  and  exceedingly  anxious  that  the  congregation 


FIRST  EXTEMPORANEOUS  SPEECH. 


63 


should  see  them  in  precisely  the  right  light,  for  they 
were  of  immense  importance,  at  least,  so  it  seemed  to 
me,  just  then.  A  few  words  more  on  another  impor¬ 
tant  point,  and  then  I  thought  I  would  resort  to  my 
manuscript.  But  the  important  points  multipled  as  I 
discussed  them.  The  machine  was  fairly  under  way, 
and  ran  on  and  on,  and  I  could  not  get  on  the  brakes, 
could  not  even  get  to  them.  I  spoke  for  nearly  an  hour 
and  a  half,  and  never  turned  a  page  of  my  manuscript. 

I  was  instructed  by  that  experience,  that  what  is  really 
wanting  to  success  in  extemporaneous  speaking,  is 
that  a  man  discuss  a  subject  in  which  he  feels  a  deep 
interest,  and  one  concerning  which  he  has  acquired  some 
positive  knowledge  which  he  feels  anxious  to  impart  to 
others ;  that  he  have  a  tolerable  acquaintance  with  the 
language  he  is  about  to  use,  and  that  he  shall  be  so  in¬ 
tent  on  accomplishing  some  desirable,  practical  result  by 
his  efforts,  that  he  will  forget  himself,  and  have  not  a 
thought  of  what  his  audience  may  possibly  think  of  his 
performance.  Under  those  conditions,  a  man  who  has 
good  digestion  may  venture  to  dispense  with  notes. 

Some  friend  sent  me  a  copy  of  a  local  paper  contain¬ 
ing  a  notice  of  that  lecture  which  pleased  me  not  a  lit¬ 
tle.  It  was  nearly  as  follows  :  “  The  State  Temperance 

Agent,  Dr.  Charles  Jewett,  delivered  a  public  discourse 
on  that  subject  in  the  Baptist*church  during  the  past 
week.  Our  opinion  of  his  lecture  our  readers  will  gather 
from  a  brief  anecdote.  Two  gentlemen  were  once  watch¬ 
ing  with  considerable  interest  the  evolutions  of  a  danc¬ 
ing  party,  and  as  the  dancers  successively  whirled  past 
these  observers,  they  compared  opinions  relative  to  their 
several  performances  At  length,  one  stalwart  fellow 


64 


STRONG  DANCING, 


possessed  of  uncommon  energy,  and  a  very  stout  pair 
of  cowhide  boots,  passed  them,  and  the  way  those  boot- 
heels  came  down  upon  the  floor  was  a  caution.  4  What 
do  you  think  of  that  style  of  dancing  ?  ’  asked  one  of 
these  gents  of  his  companion.  4  Well,’  replied  the  other, 
4  he  doesn’t  dance  so  handsomely  as  some  men  but  he 
does  dance  confounded  strong.’  ” 


CHAPTER  V. 


I 

A  COWARDLY  ATTACK. 

“  Smith’s  hat  ” — Giving  up  the  lancet — My  co-workers — A  sick  wife 
— Trouble — A  visit  to  Boston — Dreaming  in  Rhyme — Laugh  and 
be  fat ! — Encouraging  progress — Doubt  and  uncertainty — A  wife’s 
counsel — A  timely  suggestion — Seventy  Dollars  ! 

The  condemnation  of  the  liquor  traffic  by  the  popular 
vote  in  Providence,  the  largest  city  of  the  state,  and  in 
many  of  the  country  towns,  and  a  pretty  vigorous  effort 
to  inflict  the  penalties  of  law  on  shameless  violators, 
roused  the  wrath  of  the  liquor  sellers,  and  led  to  a  most 
cowardly  assault,  under  cover  of  darkness,  on  one  of  our 
prominent  and  very  faithful  fellow-laborers,  Judge  Wil¬ 
liam  Aplin.  He  was  assailed  on  his  way  home  from  his 
office  at  about  ten  in  the  evening,  by  two  ruffians,  with 
the  evident  intention  of  getting  him  into  a  sack  and 
taking  him — we  know  not  where.  An  accomplice  was 
near  with  a  horse  and  carriage,  who,  on  the  failure  of 
the  ruffians  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  drove  rapidly 
away.  The  Judge,  though  not  a  large  man,  was  a  very 
active  and  energetic  one,  and  taught  the  scoundrels  that 
there  is  vigor  in  the  muscles  of  a  cold  water  man.  His 
assailants  were  never  legally  identified,  although  there 
was  little  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  people  as  to  one  of 
them.  He  lost  his  hat  in  the  struggle,  and  when  com¬ 
pelled  to  fly  on  the  approach  of  parties,  whom  the  shouts 
of  the  Judge  for  help  had  called  to  the  spot,  he  was  un- 

(65) 


66 


GIVING  UP  THE  LANCET. 


able  to  recover  it.  Many  gentlemen  who  saw  the  hat 
next  morning,  exclaimed  at  once :  “  That  is  Smith’s 
hat.”  The  Smith  referred  to  was  the  landlord  of  one 
of  the  city  hotels.  Others  said,  “  Let  us  see  whether 
Smith  comes  abroad  this  morning  with  his  usual  head 
dress.”  The  landlord  appeared  with  a  new  hat.  It  was 
whispered  that  Jewett’s  turn  would  come  next;  but  I 
was  never  assailed,  though  some  of  my  personal  friends 
felt  some  anxiety  for  my  safety.  Parties  offended  by  my 
course,  however,  relieved  themselves  by  growling  and 
scowling,  and  by  the  utterance  of*  big  oaths  on  the  side¬ 
walk  in  front  of  my  office. 

During  the  year  1837,  I  had  relinquished  my  practice 
as  a  physician,  and  accepted  an  agency  under  the  Rhode 
Island  State  Temperance  Society,  to  travel  through  the 
state  and  devote  myself  to  the  instruction  of  the  people 
in  reference  to  the  great  points  at  issue  between  That  or¬ 
ganization  and  the  advocates  of  license  and  the  drinking 
customs — to  aid  in  organizing  the  friends  of  temperance, 
where  they  were  not  already  organized  ;  and,  in  general, 
to  labor  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause.  The  execu¬ 
tive  committee  of  the  State  Society  had  been  instructed 
by  a  vote  at%the  last  annual  meeting,  to  employ  an  agent ; 
and  under  those  instructions  I  had  been  engaged. 

Pledges  had  been  given  at  that  annual  meeting  by 
delegates  representing  the  local  societies  in  all  parts  of 
the  state,  of  financial  support  to  the  State  Society  in 
carrying  out  the  policy  decided  upon,  of  employing  an 
agent,  liberally  scattering  through  the ’state  temperance 
publications,  and  in  extending  their  operations  generally. 
I  was  not  so  well  acquainted  with  the  value  of  such 
pledges,  in  general,  then  as  I  am  now,  or  I  should  never 


MY  CO-WORKERS. 


67 


have  ventured  on  an  agency,  relying  for  support  on  a 
treasury. to  be  thus  replenished.  The  great  crash  of 
1837  had  shut  down  the  gates  of  many  of  the  manufac¬ 
turing  establishments,  and  the  laboring  population,  very 
many  of  whom  were  owing  me  for  past  professional  ser¬ 
vices,  scattered,  during  the  year  of  my  agency,  in  all 
directions,  and  left  quite  too  poor  to  pay  their  bills  to 
my  collectors. 

This  was  a  sad  blow,  financially,  to  lose  thus  the  re¬ 
sults  of  years  of  service,  while  every  bill  I  owed  was 
quite  sure  to  find  me.  Still,  I  kept  at  work  in  the  lec¬ 
turing  field,  not  doubting  but  that  before  the  year  should 
close  the  local  societies  would  redeem  their  pledges,  and 
I  should  receive  the  very  moderate  salary  stipulated. 
They  failed  to  do  so,  however,  and  so  much  of  my  salary 
as  was  paid  was  mostly  raised  by  a  few  friends  in  the 
city  of  Providence.  A  very  considerable  portion  of  R, 
however,  remains  unpaid  to-day.  I  do  not  chronicle 
these  unpleasant  facts  in  a  complaining  spirit  or  with  a 
view  to  reflect  on  the  good  people  of  Rhode  Island. 

Of  my  fellow  laborers  in  Rhode  Island,  a  great  pro¬ 
portion  of  whom  have  passed  away,  I  could  never  speak 
but  in  terms  of  respect  and  affection,  while  I  remember 
their  personal  kindness  to  me  and  their  great  faithful¬ 
ness  in  the  cause.  I  despair  of  seeing  any  better  men 
in  the  world  than  good  Dr.  Clark,  Peres  Peck,  Daniel 
Anthony,  Peleg  Wilbur,  and  John  Kilton  of  Coventry; 
than  good  Deacon  Brown  or  William  Green  of  East 
Greenwich,  or  that  band  of  noble  men  who,  in  our  long 
and  stern  war  with  a  wicked  system,  stood  at  their  post 
of  duty  in  Providence  like  oaks  rooted  by  the  sunshine 
and  the  storms  of  a  hundred  years.  Oh,  what  men  they 


68 


A  SICK  WIFE. — TROUBLE. 


were !  William  Peabody,  Henry  Cushing,  S.  S.  Ward- 
well,  John  C.  Nichols,  James  Eames,  Willis  Ames,  Judges 
Aplin  and  Branch,  Samuel  Wheeler ;  and  some  of  the 
younger  who  still  survive,  Amos  C.  Barstow,  Sylvester 
Salisbury,  and  others.  How  freshly  memory  brings  their 
familiar  faces  before  me,  and  how  I  love  to  record  their 
faithfulness  and  unselfish  devotion  to  the  work  of  reform ! 

At  the  close  of  the  year  I  resigned  my  agency  and 
purposed  to  return  to  the  practice  of  my  profession. 
Friends  in  the  city  urged  me  to  locate  there ,  as  it  was 
thought  I  could  not  fail,  with  nearly  ten  years  of  pro¬ 
fessional  experience  and  troops  of  good  friends  in  the 
city,  to  secure,  at  least,  a  fair  practice,  the  avails  of 
which  would  support  my  young  family.  I  opened  an 
office  on  Christian  Hill,  and  began  to  receive  a  fair  share 
of  professional  calls,  when  the  severe  illness  of  my  wTife 
kept  me  at  home  for  weeks.  It  was  an  attack  of  hem¬ 
orrhage  from  the  lungs,  and  for  a  time  I  feared  a  fatal 
issue ;  but  a  kind  Providence  otherwise  ordered.  She 
recovered,  and  during  her  convalescence  events  occurred 
which  resulted  in  sending  me  once  more  into  the  tem¬ 
perance  vineyard.  Those  events  seem  to  me  worthy  of 
narration  with  some  degree  of  particularity. 

During  the  preceding  winter,  that  of  1839, 1  had  been 
sent  as  a  delegate  to  represent  the  Rhode  Island  State 
Temperance  Society  in  a  convention  held  in  Boston.  It 
was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  enthusiastic  I  have  ever 
attended.  Thinking  it  possible  that  I  might  be  called 
upon  to  make  some  slight  contribution  to  the  interest  of 
the  occasion,  I  jingled  some  thoughts  in  rhyme,  in  which 
I  gave  a  historical  account  of  a  wonderful  dream  which 
had  recently  visited  me.  In  this  dream  I  had  seen  some 


A  VISIT  TO  BOSTON. 


69 


queer  things,  and  heard  very  remarkable  utterances  in 
the  vicinity  of  Still-House  Square,  in  Boston. 

It  had  been  arranged  to  have  the  convention  continue 
in  session  two  days,  and  on  each  evening  to  have  a  great 
popular  meeting,  addressed  by  gentlemen  selected  by  a 
committee  for  that  service.  It  happened  that  I  was 
among  the  number  selected,  and  when  called  upon  to 
address  the  convention,  I  concluded  my  speech,  which  I 
had  purposely  made  very  short,  with  the  recitation  of 
“  The  Dream,  or  The  Bumseller’s  and  Rumdrinker’s 
Lamentation.”  In  one  part  of  the  recitation  I  person¬ 
ated  an  irate  rumseller,  and  gave  utterance  to  the  usual 
sentiments  of  that  class  of  persons.  After  him  came 
the  poor  drunkard,  and  in  a  style  peculiar  to  the  most 
noisy  and  uproarious  of  that  class,  I  gave  expression  to 
their  sentiments,  objections,  and  wrath  in  view  of  the 
measures  of  the  temperance  party.  How  the  exercise 
was  received  by  the  vast  audience  it  is  not  proper  for  me 
to  state.  The  reader  shall  learn  from  the  statement  of 
a  very  excellent  man  and  popular  writer  who  was  pres¬ 
ent,  and  whose  peculiarities  qualified  him  to  appreciate 
fully  the  hits  that  were  given  to  the  opposition  in  that 
rather  novel  way.  The  only  apology  I  had  then  or  now 
have  for  the  very  extraordinary  course  I  pursued  on  that 
occasion,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  notion  was  becom¬ 
ing  prevalent  that  to  those  not  especially  engaged  in  the 
enterprise,  temperance  conventions  were  very  dull,  neces¬ 
sarily  so.  It  seemed  important  to  dissipate  such  a  de¬ 
lusion,  else  we  should  soon  lose  the  public  ear,  and  thus 
a  serious  blow  would  be  struck  at  the  reform.  I  hon¬ 
estly  think  that,  at  the  time,  the  exercise  was  useful  in 
the  way  indicated.  There  was  no  literary  merit  in  the 


TO 


LAUGH  AND  BE  FAT. 


article.  It  was  its  adaptation  to  the  peculiar  circum¬ 
stances  by  which  we  were  just  then  surrounded,  with 
perhaps  a  tolerable  personation  of  character,  that  gave 
it  effect. 

In  an  article  published  in  the  “  Sons  of  Temperance 
Offering,”  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  A.  W.  M’Clure,  occurs 
the  following  passage : 

“We  have  seen  some  laughing  in  our  time  ;  but  de¬ 
cidedly  the  most  extravagant,  uproarious,  and  ecstatical 
burst  we  ever  witnessed  was  at  Dr.  Jewett’s  recital  of 
his  poem,  ‘  The  Rumseller’s  and  Rumdrinker’s  Lamen¬ 
tation,’  as  given  at  the  great  Convention  held  at  the  old 
Marlboro’  Chapel  in  Boston,  January,  1839.  In  reading 
this  effusion  in  cold  blood,  at  this  distance  of  time,  and 
under  great  change  of  circumstances,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  anything  about  it  sufficient  to  cause  that  deafening 
cachinnatory  explosion,  and  its  long  resounding  rever¬ 
berations.  But,  at  that  time,  when  the  ‘  fifteen-gallon 
law  ’  was  in  all  its  glory,  the  satire  was  most  ticklishly 
apropos ;  and  never  did  ridicule  seem  keener,  or  more 
free  from  venom.  Above  all,  the  doctor’s  delivery  justi¬ 
fied  what  the  ancient  rhetoricians  have  said  of  the  im¬ 
portance  and  effectiveness  of  manner.  The  whole 
densely-crowded  audience  was  thrown  into  a  paroxysm 
of  laughter  such  as  can  never  be  exceeded  in  the  same 
length  of  time.  The  fat  man  rolled  in  his  seat  like  a 
pudding  in  a  boiling  pot.  The  lean  man  doubled  him¬ 
self  up  into  a  hard  knot,  then  threw  himself  back  in  a 
rigid  spasm,  and  at  last  twisted  himself  into  a  corkscrew, 
undergirding  his  poor  ribs  with  both  hands  to  keep  him¬ 
self  from  being  shaken  to  pieces.  The  tremendous  roar 
burst  up  into  yells  of  delight,  and  shrieks  of  orgastic 


A  wife’s  counsel. 


73 


in  connection  with  the  temperance  reform,  and  was 
introduced  to  it  as  follows.  I  received,  one  evening, 
through  the  mail,  an  invitation  from  a  committee,  signed 
by  Moses  Grant  of  Boston,  chairman,  to  prepare  and 
recite,  before  a  convention  to  be  held  in  that  city,  a 
temperance  poem. 

“  Will  you  undertake  the  service  ?  ”  asked  the  sick 
wife.  “  No,”  I  replied.  “  I  cannot  spare  the  time.  I 
have  a  bill  of  $70.00  to  pay  in  about  four  weeks  for  my 
small  stock  of  medicines,”  (I  had  opened  a  small 
drug  store  in  a  part  of  my  house,)  “  and  must  bestir 
myself  and  raise  the  money,  which  I  cannot  do  if  I  sit 
down  to  write  poems.” 

She  urged  me,  notwithstanding,  to  comply  with  the 
invitation,  suggesting  that  the  Boston  committee  would, 
probably,  pay  me  something  for  the  labor,  and  expressing 
the  belief  that,  somehow,  a  good  Providence  would  pro¬ 
vide  if  I  set  about  the  required  service  with  an  earnest 
purpose  to  help  forward  a  good  and  great  cause.  Long- 
before  this  I  had  learned  that  it  was  sometimes  good 
policy  for  a  man  to  listen  to  the  counsel  of  a  good  Chris¬ 
tian  wife,  if  he  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  one. 
I  yielded  to  her  persuasion  and  set  about  the  work.  I 
was  hard  pressed  for  time,  and  wrote  the  last  eighteen 
lines  of  the  poem  in  the  library  of  my  excellent  friend, 
Dea.  Moses  Grant  of  Boston,  after  reaching  that  city, 
and  the  evening  before  the  day  of  the  convention. 
This  great  gathering  of  good  men,  like  that  of  the  pre¬ 
vious  year,  was  to  continue  in  session  two  days ;  the 
evening  of  each  day  to  be  devoted  to  public  addresses, 
and  other  exercises.  The  recitation  of  the  poem  was 
advertised  as  a  part  of  the  exercises  for  the  first  evening. 

4 


T4 


A  TIMELY  SUGGESTION. 


The  president  of  the  Mass.  Temperance  Union,  Hon. 
John  Tappan,  presided  both  day  and  evening.  The 
poem,  which  had  the  merits  of  being  understandable , 
and  having  a  practical  aim ,  if  no  other,  was  well  received 
by  an  assembly  of  more  than  three  thousand  people, 
numbering  some  hundreds  of  the  clergy,  and  very  many 
men  of  the  other  liberal  professions,  justly  distinguished 
for  great  learning,  and  the  possession  of  the  Christian 
virtues.  Immediately  after  the  recitation  of  the  poem, 
a  gentleman  in  the  audience  arose,  and  inquired  if  it 
would  be  practicable  to  have  it  printed,  so  that  delegates 
to  the  convention  could  obtain  copies  to  take  home  with 
them.  Deacon  Grant  replied  that  the  poem  should  be 
printed  during  the  night,  and  be  ready  for  delivery  at 
the  door  of  the  convention  room  at  ten  o’clock,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  morning.  Just  here,  Rev.  T.  P.  Hunt,  whom  I 
have  before  introduced  to  -my  readers,  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  made  the  following  brief,  but  very  pertinent 
speech : 

“  Mr.  President,  I  am  glad  that  poem  is  to  be  printed. 
I  think  it  is  worthy  of  publication,  and  hope,  when 
printed,  that  the  gentlemen  delegates  present,  will  buy, 
not  a  single,  copy  each,  but  half  a  dozen  each,  to  dis¬ 
tribute  among  their  friends,  and  that  they  will  be  willing 
to  pay  a  good  price  for  them,  and  in  that  case,  perhaps 
our  friend,  the  doctor,  will  obtain  some  reward  for  his 
labor,  more  substantial  than  the  thanks  of  this  honora¬ 
ble  body.” 

It  was  a  timely  suggestion,  and,  from  what  followed, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  hundreds  of  generous  brethren 
acted  upon  that  hint.  I  read  the  proof-sheets  before 
two  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  on  the  meeting  of  the 


SEVENTY  DOLLARS. 


75 


convention  at  ten,  a.  m.,  the  pamphlet  was  on  sale  at  the 
door.  A  good  friend  of  mine,  Rev.  L.  D.  Johnson,  of 
Rhode  Island,  attended  to  the  sales,  and  twelve  hundred 
copies  were  disposed  of  before  the  close  of  the  conven¬ 
tion.  After  the  final  adjournment,  and  when,  worn 
with  protracted  excitement  and  the  broken  rest  of  the 
preceding  night,  I  was  about  to  retire,  friend  Johnson 
came  in,  and  requested  me  to  go  with  him  to  his  room, 
where  he  counted  out  to  me,  as  the  net  profits  of  this 
hurried  publication,  $70.00,  the  exact  sum  to  a  penny, 
needed  to  pay  that  hill  at  home,  which  had  so  troubled 
me,  and  to  meet  which  I  had  been  advised  to  trust  in 
Providence  while  I  should  perform  what  was  regarded  as 
a  pretty  important  service  to  a  great  and  good  cause. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


INVITED  TO  A  WIDER  FIELD. 

Packing  up — “  Cast  down  but  not  destroyed  ” — A  dialogue — Was 
it  brotherly  or  wise  ? — A  Christian  hero — A  clergyman  and  three 
churches — The  poor  house  preacher — “  If  I  had  let  rum  alone  ” — 
Rum  and  horrors — We  “went  for”  the  buckwheat  cakes — 
Crane’s  store — “  What’ll  you  have  ”  ? — “  Didn’t  I  call  for’t,  ha  ?  ” 
“  You  can’t  cheat  me  ” — Doubted ! 

Soon  after  my  return  from  Boston,  I  received  an  invi¬ 
tation  from  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Massachu¬ 
setts  Temperance  Union,  to  serve  them  as  a  lecturing 
agent.  I  declined  the  invitation  for  the  reason  which  I 
distinctly  stated,  that  past  experience  had  taught  me 
not  to  trust  for  the  support  of  my  family  to  the  treasury 
of  an  organization,  which  had  no  proper  financial  basis, 
but  relied  for  its  support  on  occasional  donations  from 
its  friends,  and  collections  taken  at  the  close  of  public 
meetings.  I  was  answered  by  an  inquiry  as  to  whether 
I  had  any  plan  to  propose  for  the  financial  support  of 
tenf|)erance  organizations,  and,  if  I  had,  to  communicate 
my  plan  to  the  committee.  I  suggested  a  plan  which, 
with  its  working,  I  shall  presently  describe  more  at 
length.  It  was  adopted  with  slight  modifications,  which 
did  not,  in  my  judgment,  improve  it,  and  I  was  then 
invited  to  assist  in  carrying  it  out.  The  salary  offered 
me  was  twelve  hundred  a  year,  or  a  hundred  per  month 
exclusive  of  traveling  expenses.  I  accepted  the  invi- 

(76) 


“CAST  DOWN  BUT  NOT  DESTROYED.”  77 

tation,  fixed  the  time  for  commencing  my  labors,  and 
appointments  were  at  once  arranged  for  me,  commencing 
with  the  ancient  town  of  Dedham,  since  celebrated  in 
connection  with  the  striped  pig  exhibition.  The  losses 
I  had  sustained  through  the  financial  crash  of  ’37,  the 
stopping  of  work  in  the  factories,  and  the  sudden  dis¬ 
persion  in  all  possible  direction  of  those  indebted  to  me  ; 
as  well  as  by  my  failure  to  receive  the  whole  of  the 
salary  promised  me  for  service  in  Rhode  Island,  had 
sadly  embarrassed  me,  and  now  came  the  unpleasant 
task  of  settling  up  matters  with  very  limited  means, 
and  of  providing  for  my  family,  while  I,  by  honest  ser¬ 
vice,  should  earn  something  on  another  field  with  which 
to  commence  the  world  anew.  I  provided  for  my  family 
a  temporary  home  among  my  relatives  in  Connecticut. 
My  personal  property,  even  furniture,  the  gift  of  rela¬ 
tives  to  my  wife  before  her  marriage,  was,  at  her  re¬ 
quest,  sent  to  the  auction  rooms  and  sold,  that  the 
avails  might  aid  in  paying  debts  which  I  had  contracted 
while  serving  the  cause  of  temperance.  The  time  for 
the  commencement  of  my  labor  in  Massachusetts  had 
arrived,  and  yet,  after  employing  all  available  means,  I 
was  unable  to  pay  all  my  debts  before  leaving. 

That  was  a  gloomy  hour.  I  went  down  to  old  India 
Point  to  take  the  cars  for  Boston,  and  reached  the  de¬ 
pot  twenty  minutes  in  advance  of  the  time  of  starting. 

I  had  thus  time  to  ruminate.  In  connection  with  the 
practice  of  my  profession  and  as  a  laborer  in  a  great 
work  of  reform,  I  had  served  the  state  faithfully  for  ten 
years,  and  now  must  leave  it  with  a  wife  and  four  child¬ 
ren  to  care  for,  with  but  little  more  money  than  would 
pay  my  fare  to  a  new  field  of  labor.  I  paced  the  plat- 


78 


A  DIALOGUE. 


form,  and  presently  extended  my  walk  along  the  length¬ 
ened  piles  of  pine  wood  near  by,  and  for  a  moment  I  was 
quite  unmanned.  I  may  as  well  confess  it ;  the  boy, 
Charles  Jewett,  got  the  better  of  the  man.  I  sat  down 
behind  a  pile  of  pine  wood,  and  wept.  The  warning 
bell  of  the  waiting  engine  soon  roused  me.  I  took  a 
seat  in  the  cars  and  w7as  off.  In  due  time,  I  reached 
Dedham,  Mass.,  and  before  a  good  audience  got  another 
fair  opportunity  to  assail  the  wicked  system  I  had  long 
been  fighting,  and  in  the  labor  forgot  personal  griefs 
and  embarrassments. 

While  on  a  brief  visit  to  Rhode  Island,  a  few  months 
after  leaving  it  under  the  trying  circumstances  already 
recorded,  a  friend  reported  to  me  a  conversation  he  had 
had  with  a  very  wealthy  and  excellent  citizen  of  Provi¬ 
dence  the  day  previous  to  my  departure  for  Massachu¬ 
setts,  and  I  wrill  here  relate  it,  as  it  may  give  point  to 
some  suggestions  of  a  practical  character.  I  shall  call 
the  wealthy  gentleman  Mr.  X.,  although  that  was  not 
the  initial  letter  of  his  name. 

X.  “  Well,  they  tell  me  that  Dr.  Jewett  is  about  to 
leave  us.” 

F.  “  Yes  ;  he  goes  to-morrow,  having  been  engaged 
to  serve  the  people  of  Massachusetts.” 

X.  “  I  am  sorry  he  is  going.  We  could  far  better 
spare  some  others  I  could  name  ;  for,  although  his  coun¬ 
sel  has  not  always  been  wise,  nor  his  measures  such  as 
I  could  altogether  approve,  yet,  really,  he  has  been  a 
very  useful  man  among  us.  I  think  he  has  done  more 
to  advance  the  temperance  cause  in  this  State  than  any 
half-dozen  of  us.” 


WAS  IT  BROTHERLY  AND  WISE? 


79 


F.  “  He  leaves  us,  I  am  told,  under  very  straitened 
circumstances.” 

X.  “  Yes  ;  it  could  hardly  be  otherwise.  He  is  not 
a  good  financier.  A  man  who  mounts  some  reformatory 
hobby,  and  undertakes  to  revolutionize  opinions  and 
customs  which  he  thinks  wrong,  is  not  likely  to  get  very 
rich  in  the  operation.” 

Reader,  Mr.  X.  was  reputed  to  be  worth  a  million. 
He  was  quite  an  active  member  of  one  of  the  churches 
■  of  Providence,  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  and,  withal,  a 
a  thorough  temperance  man  so  far  as  his  own  habits 
were  concerned.  He  was  a  liberal  supporter  of  Christian 
missions,  foreign  and  domestic,  and,  in  fact,  of  every 
other  benevolent  movement  of  the  day  except  the  tem¬ 
perance  enterprise.  He  had  given  to  that,  indeed,  but 
should  you  multiply  his  gifts  to  that  cause  by  ten,  the 
product  would  not  equal  what  he  annually  gave  to  some 
other  enterprises.  You  will  say,  perhaps,  that  he  lacked 
confidence  in  the  permanency  of  the  reform,  or  did  not 
approve  of  all  the  measures  which  the  state  or  local  or¬ 
ganizations  adopted  to  advance  it.  Very  likely.  But 
why  should  a  wealthy  and  Christian  gentleman  condition 
his  support  of  the  temperance  cause  on  the  perfection 
of  the  measures  adopted  to  promote  it  ?  He  is  not  thus 
critical  and  exacting  in  relation  to  other  enterprises 
which  he  liberally  supports.  Ask  such  a  man  if  he  ex¬ 
pects  an  exhibition  of  faultless  wisdom  in  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  foreign  missionary  cause,  of  home  missions, 
or  the  bible  or  tract  societies, — he  will  answer  you  in 
the  negative.  Why  then  does  he  demand  perfection  in 
temperance  operations  as  a  condition  of  his  financial 
support  of  them  ?  Reader,  perhaps  that  question  may 


80 


A  CHRISTIAN  HERO. 


with  great  propriety  be  addressed  to  you.  Will  you  con¬ 
sider  it  ?  • 

The  words  of  that  Christian  and  temperance  million- 
are,  Mr.  X.,  as  reported  to  me  by  my  friend  F.,  wounded 
my  feelings  at  the  time  beyond  my  power  to  express. 
The  unruffled  composure  with  which  he  had  seen  me 
leave  the  state  penniless,  with  a  wife  and  four  children 
to  provide  for,  I  should  have  been  able  to  excuse  if  he 
had  been  silent  on  the  subject,  or  if  his  words  had  not 
been  reported  to  me,  for  I  should  have  concluded  that  , 
amid  the  multitude  of  his  cares  he  had  not  become  fully 
acquainted  with  my  condition,  or  that  he  did  not  fully 
realize  the  amount  of  service  I  had  rendered  the  state 
by  ten  years  of  hard  labor.  But  when  his  words  were 
reported  to  me  I  became  convinced  that  he  knew  all,  and 

yet, - Oh,  the  miserable  selfishness  that  could  clutch 

a  million  and  see  a  fellow  laborer  whose  services  to  the 
public  he  fully  appreciated  go  empty  handed  out  of  the 
state !  If  such  selfishness  comes  of  the  possession  of 
wealth,  God  in  mercy  grant  I  may  never  be  rich ! 

Before  considering  further  the  history  of  the  cause  in 
the  glorious  old  Bay  State,  I  will  take  a  parting  glance 
over  the  field  in  Bhode  Island,  and  see  what  memory 
can  gather  up  worthy  of  record. 

And  first,  it  brings  before  me  the  name  and  valuable 
services  of  my  successor  in  Bhode  Island,  the  Bev. 
Thomas  Tew.  He  was  the  agent  of  the  State  Tempe¬ 
rance  Society  for  many  years,  and  was  one  of  the  most 
devoted,  untiring,  and  energetic  laborers  in  the  work  of 
reform  I  have  ever  known.  He  not  only  contributed  by 
his  public  discourses  and  the  distribution  of  temperance 
publications  over  his  very  limited  but  important  field  of 


A  CLERGYMAN  AND  THREE  CHURCHES.  81 

labor,  to  correct  and  elevate  the  public  sentiment  in  re¬ 
lation  to  the  use  of  intoxicants  and  the  liquor  traffic, 
which  he  heartily  hated,  but  he  prosecuted  violators  of 
the  law  in  the  courts,  and  in  short  by  every  proper  means 
within  his  reach  he  sought  to  crush  a  wicked  system  and 
to  promote  not  only  the  virtue  of  temperance  but  all 
those  Christian  virtues  which  constitute  the  brightest 
ornaments  of  personal  character  and  the  strongest  bul¬ 
wark  of  the  state.  Tie  literally  wore  himself  out  with 
hard  and  continuous  labor.  Friends  who  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  personal  intercourse  with  him  when  he  was 
no  longer  able  to  labor,  have  assured  me  that,  worn  and 
wasted  as  he  was  with  disease  and  stretched  upon  a  bed 
from  which  he  had  no  expectation  of  rising,  he  retained 
to  a  wonderful  degree  his  wonted  cheerfulness,  and 
while  with  feeble  voice  he  discoursed  with  them  of  the 
future  triumph  of  the  cause,  which  revealed  itself  to  his 
faith  and  hope,  his  eye  would  kindle  with  excitement, 
and  then  only  would  he  express  a  wish,  if  it  were  pos¬ 
sible,  for  continued  life,  that  he  might  still  further  con¬ 
tribute  to  hasten  on  the  blessed  consummation.  In  an¬ 
swer  to  the  inquiry  of  a  friend  as  to  the  state  of  his 
mind  and  feelings,  only  a  brief  period  before  the  spirit 
passed  to  its  everlasting  rest,  he  answered  with  a  smile 
and  the  words,  Happy,  Happy  ! 

Although,  in  general,  the  results  of  the  liquor  system 
are  of  like  character  everywhere,  yet  in  certain  places  it 
gives  us  peculiar  manifestations  of  its  power,  which  are 
worthy  of  special  consideration.  The  town  of  Foster, 
in  Rhode  Island,  is  one  of  those  localities.  I  was  in¬ 
formed  while  laboring  in  that  town  that  in  three  differ¬ 
ent  sections  of  it  attempts  had  been  made  in  time  past 


82 


A  CLERGYMAN  AND  THREE  CHURCHES. 


to  build  <\  church,  and  that  such  was  the  low  state  of 
morals  in  those  places  at  that  time,  induced  mainly  by 
intemperance,  that  the  parties  engaged  in  building  had 
fallen  out  by  the  way,  got  into  a  bitter  quarrel,  and  that, 
as  a  consequence,  work  on  the  church  had,  in  each  case, 
been  discontinued ;  and  the  frames,  partially  enclosed, 
had  been  left  to  rot.  Three  frames  in  that  condition 
had  at  different  times  proclaimed  to  passers-by  the  state 
of  morals  in  the  town  of  Foster.  * 

Another  result  had  been  the  drunkenness  of  a  clergy¬ 
man,  on  a  funeral  occasion,  so  that  all  recollection  of  the 
mournful  occasion  had  been  obliterated  from  his  poor 
addled  brain  before  he  left  the  stricken  home.  At  the 
period  when  this  happened,  the  decanter  was  brought 
out  at  funerals,  as  well  as  at  weddings  and  other  joyful 
occasions.  This  versatile  agent  could  help  men  to  weep 
as  well  as  to  laugh.  The  clergyman  referred  to  had 
drank  when  he  first  arrived,  because  he  had  been  riding 
in  the  cold  and  was  chilly.  He  had  drank  again  before 
the  funeral  service,  which  was  held  in  the  house,  to  give 
him  inspiration  for  that  service.  Before  leaving  for  the 
grave-yard,  a  mile  or  more  distant,  another  glass  must 
be  taken  to  guard  against  cold  and  anticipated  fatigue. 
On  returning  from  the  cemetery,  another  drink  must  be 
had,  because  he  had  been  exposed  to  the  cold  and  was 
somewhat  fatigued ;  and  now  they  sat  down  to  dinner. 
His  reverence,  by  this  time  in  a  very  sad  condition,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  not  seeing  the  wife, 
whom  he  had  just  helped  to  bury,  in  her  usual  place  at 
the  table,  lie  turned  his  glazed  eyes  to  the  bereaved  hus¬ 
band  and  asked,  “  Why,  where  is  your  wife  ?  isn’t  she 
at  home  ?”  That,  I  was  told,  was  the  last  of  his  public 
services  as  a  minister. 


THE  POOR  HOUSE  PREACHER. 


83 


A  citizen  of  Foster,  when  drunk,  fell  with  his  head  on 
the  hearth  and  so  near  the  fire  that  the  heat  spoiled 
both  eyes,  destroyed  the  vitality  of  the  nose  so  that  it 
sloughed  entirely  off,  leaving  only  a  couple  of  unsightly 
holes  in  the  face  where  a  nose  had  been,  burned  the 
parts  about  the  mouth,  so  that  in  healing  all  that  was 
left  of  that  very  essential  organ  was  a  small  hole  into 
the  buccal  cavity,  through  which  food  could  be  intro¬ 
duced,  and  this  hole  was  not  central,  but  quite  on  one 
side.  Besides  this,  the  scalp  had  been  so  heated  on  the 
top  of  his  head,  that  not  only  did  it  slough  for  a  space 
as  large  as  the  palm  of  one’s  hand,  but  even  a  portion 
of  the  bone  exfoliated.  These  losses  of  structure  were 
replaced,  in  the  healing  process,  by  a  sort  of  gristly  or 
cartilaginous  substance,  and  a  permanent  discharging- 
ulcer  remained  on  the  top  of  the  head  for  the  rest  of 
his  life.  He  had  been,  I  was  told,  an  inmate  of  the 
poor  house  for  fourteen  years,  and  ail  this  time,  when 
the  weather  was  warm  and  favorable,  they  would,  at  his 
request,  place  him  outside  the  door  where  he  could  feel 
the  influence  of  the  sun  and  the  fresh  air.  There  this 
wretched  remnant  of  a  man  sat  and  preached  temper¬ 
ance  to  everybody  that  would  pause  and  listen  to  him. 
“  I  don’t  know  who  you  are,  for  I  can  see  nothing ;  but 
whoever  you  are,  I  want  you  to  look  on  me  and  be 
warned  to  let  rum  alone.  Look  at  me  now.  This  is  all 
the  work  of  rum,  and  you  see  there  is  no  chance  for  me 
ever  to  be  any  better.  I  shall  never  see  the  sun  nor  the 
faces  of  men  any  more.  I  must  go  to  my  grave  as  I 
am  ;  and  yet  I  might  have  been  as  well  off  and  as  happy 
as  you,  as  any  one,  if  I  had  let  rum  alone.” 

And  thus  he  was  exhorting  as  long  as  I  remained  in 


84 


RUM  AND  HORRORS. 


Rhode  Island.  What  may  have  been  his  history  since 
I  left  the  state  I  know  not.  Was  not  this  pretty  power¬ 
ful  preaching  to  the  eye  as  well  as  to  the  ear  ?  and  yet, 
reader,  if  you  habitually  use  intoxicating  liquors,  you 
are  probably  so  blinded  and  influenced  by  that  terrible 
habit  and  the  deceptive  power  of  the  drink,  that  you 
could  have  looked  on  that  wretched  object,  listened  to 
his  touching  appeals,  and  gone  directly  back  to  your 
home  or  hotel  and  taken  another  drink. 

I  will  here  record  still  another  result  of  the  liquor 
traffic  in  Foster.  A  poor  fellow,  naturally  kind  hearted 
and  well  disposed  when  in  possession  of  his  reason,  un¬ 
der  the  bewildering,  maddening  influence  of  liquor,  com¬ 
menced  a  quarrel  with  his  wife,  and  soon  became  so  ter¬ 
ribly  excited  that  she,  in  alarm,  fled  to  a  neighbor’s  for 
safety,  leaving  behind  a  fine  little  boy  about  four  years 
old,  their  only  child,  who  was  the  very  idol  of  his  father, 
and  on  whose  account,  therefore,  she  had  no  fears. 
Seeing  that  his  wife,  the  object  of  his  blind  rage  for  the 
moment,  had  escaped  him,  he  seized  the  child  by  its 
limbs  and  dashed  its  head  against  the  granite  jambs  of 
the  fireplace,  causing  its  death.  He  was  immediately 
arrested,  securely  bound,  and  placed  under  the  care  of 
keepers. 

A  reliable  gentleman,  a  leading  friend  of  the  cause, 
who  subsequently  resided  in  the  house  where  the  deed 
was  done,  gave  me  the  information,  and  added,  “  When 
the  remains  of  his  child  were  about  to  be  buried,  the 
wretched  father,  now  thoroughly  sober,  begged  to  be 
permitted  to  look  upon  its  face  once  more  before  it  should 
be  forever  hidden  from  his  sight.”  The  request  was 
granted,  44  and,”  said  my  informant,  “  I  never  pitied  any 


A  BELLIGERENT  QUAKER. 


85 


human  being  as  I  did  that  man.  I  forgot  his  cruel  act 
in  his  present  agony.  As  he  looked  into  the  coffin  upon 
the  bruised  and  discolored  features  of  his  once  beautiful 
boy,  he  bent  forward  and  placed  first  one  cheek  and  then 
the  other,  now  wet  with  streaming  tears,  upon  the  face 
of  the  child,  and  moaned  and  groaped  as  though  his 
very  heart  would  break.” 

Few  of  my  readers,  who  are  habitual  and  pretty  free 
consumers  of  intoxicating  liquors,  would  have  drank  a 
glass  the  less  after  witnessing  that  scene.  Not  that  I 
suppose  them  to  be  heartless  or  unfeeling  men,  or  delib¬ 
erately  and  consciously  wicked  and  brutal ;  but  because 
the  terrible  agent  which  you  have  allowed  to  obtain  a 
ruling  power  over  you,  has  deceived  you  and  accustomed 
you  to  reason  falsely  on  this  one  subject,  so  that  facts 
seen  or  arguments  presented  do  not,  generally,  lead  you 
or  others  similarly  situated,  to  sound  and  logical  con¬ 
clusions. 

A  pleasant  incident  occurred  at  Pawtucket,  while  I 
was  serving  the  It.  I.  State  Temperance  Society,  the  re¬ 
lation  of  which,  in  a  brief  chapter,  may  carry  with  it  a 
valuable  moral,  or  convey  valuable  hints  to  the  reader. 
I  had  just  reached  the  village,  and  was  in  consultation 
with  that  stern  old  veteran  in  the  cause,  Abraham  Wil¬ 
kinson,  a  very  belligerent  Quaker,  who  never  knew  the 
meaning  of  the  word  fear,  and  whose  hatred  of  the 
whole  liquor  system  was  so  intense  that,  had  he  been 
Autocrat  of  Rhode  Island,  he  would  have  roasted  a  rum- 
seller  as  readily  as  a  Thanksgiving  turkey,  i.  e.,  unless 
the  fellow  would  solemnly  promise  to  quit  the  destruc¬ 
tive  business.  While  conversing  with  the  old  patriarch, 
a  gentleman,  his  nephew,  came  in,  who  seemed  to  have 


86 


WE  “WENT  FOR” 

some  private  business  with  him,  for,  taking  him  to  a  dis¬ 
tant  part  of  the  room,  he  conversed  with  him  for  some 
minutes  in  an  undertone.  I  heard  enough  to  convince 
me  that  some  movement  was  on  foot  for  the  enforcement 
of  the  penalties  of  broken  law  on  a  liquor  seller.  My 
ear  caught  the  words:  “We  want  just  one  man  more, 
and  one  who  can  be  relied  on.” 

I  stepped  across  the  room,  and  addressing  the  stranger 
said :  “  Please  accept  my  services,  sir.”  He  looked  at 

me  doubtingly.  Uncle  Abraham  said :  “  He’ll  do,” 

and  then  introduced  me  to  the  gentleman  as  Dr.  Jewett, 
the  temperance  agent.  He  was  satisfied,  and  we  crossed 
the  street  to  a  store  in  which  a  convicted  rumseller  was 
under  keepers.  An  effort  was  to  be  made  to  convey  him 
to  the  jail  in  Providence,  and  a  mob  of  perhaps  a  hun¬ 
dred  of  the  liquor  fraternity  were  gathered  about  the 
door,  declaring  in  language  more  emphatic  than  elegant, 
that  there  was  not  enough  of  the  —  cold  water  fanatics 
in  town  to  take  that  man  to  Providence ;  that  blood 
would  be  spilled  if  the  thing  were  attempted,  Ac. 

Plere,  now,  was  a  predicament,  with  a  very  few  men 
in  it.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  There  were  five  of  us, 
all  told.  Jencks  the  officer,  the  two  Wilkinson’s,  one 
other  man  (name  forgotten),  and  the  writer.  We  made 
our  way  through  the  crowd  into  the  store  where  the  cul¬ 
prit  was  in  custody.  Three  stout  wagons,  previously 
engaged,  just  then  were  driven  up  in  front  of  the  store 
by  men  who  knew  how  to  handle  the  reins,  and  when  all 
was  ready,  we  took  the  convicted  seller  of  illegal  drinks 
by  the  collar  on  each  side  and  cleared  our  way  through 
that  swearing,  sweltering  crowd,  helped  him  to  a  seat  in 
the  middle  wagon  with  a  sufficient  guard,  while  other 


THE  BUCKWHEAT  CAKES. 


87 


friends  occupied  the  front  and  rear  wagons.  It  was  the 
work  of  less  than  half  a  minute  after  we  left  the  store. 
Just  as  we  leaped  into  the  wagons  some  of  the  rowdies 
sprang  for  the  wheels  to  upset  the  vehicles,  but  the 
drivers  were  too  quick  for  them.  Crack  went  the  whip, 
and  those  who  would  have  whole  bones  must  clear  the 
track.  Away  we  went  at  a  pretty  rapid  pace  for  four 
miles,  over  one  of  the  best  roads  in  the  United  States, 
followed  a  part  of  the  way  by  a  number  of  wagons  load¬ 
ed  with  brutal  men,  swearing  vengeance.  We  lodged 
our  prisoner  safely  in  jail,  and  prepared  to  return.  For 
one,  I  expected  a  battle  on  our  way  back,  and  for  lack 
of  a  breech-loader  or  a  Remington  six-shooter,  I  helped 
myself  to  a  three  foot  oak  club  of  reasonable  size  from 
the  jailer’s  woodpile,  and  so  we  started.  Instead  of 
going  back  by  the  way  we  came,  however,  our  drivers 
took  the  old  road  for  Pawtucket,  and  in  about  forty  min¬ 
utes  we  were  eating  buckwheat  cakes  and  honey  at  Uncle 
Abraham’s,  while  the  poor  satellites  of  the  liquor  sellers, 
who  had  followed  us  half  way  to  Providence,  were  still 
lying  in  wait  by  the  turnpike  road-side  to  pelt  us  with 
stones  on  our  return.  The  usually  stern  visage  of  Un¬ 
cle  Abraham  took  on  quite  an  amiable  expression  as  he 
passed  us  the  buckwheats,  and  remembered  that  there 
was  just  one  rumseller  less  in  Pawtucket. 

About  this  time  another  incident  occurred  in  Paw¬ 
tucket,  which  caused  considerable  swearing  but  a  great 
deal  more  laughter ;  for  when  a  practical  joke  is  played 
on  eym  a  bad  man,  his  most  attached  friends  will  often 
join  in  the  laugh  at  his  expense.  Crane’s  liquor  store, 
on  the  Massachusetts  side  of  Pawtucket  bridge,  (the 
river  constitutes  the  line  between  the  states  there,)  was 


88 


crane’s  store. 


regarded  as  a  destructive  place,  and  yet  as  he  kept  his 
liquors  in  a  back  room,  into  which  none  but  the  right 
sort  were  admitted,  it  was  difficult  to  prove  him  a  vio¬ 
lator  of  law.  To  the  proper  understanding  of  the  story 
it  is  necessary  that  the  reader  should  know  that  Dr. 
Jewett,  the  temperance  lecturer,  can  personate  charac¬ 
ter  pretty  accurately,  so  his  acquaintances  will  tell  you. 
He  can,  when  he  chooses,  be  as  drunk,  to  all  appear¬ 
ance,  in  one  minute  or  less,  without  drinking,  as  most 
men  can  with  free  drinking  and  the  lapse  of  consider¬ 
able  time.  The  imitation  is  so  accurate  that  the  most 
practiced  eye  cannot  detect  the  counterfeit.  I  was  in  a 
barber’s  shop,  near  Pawtucket  bridge,  conversing  with 
the  very  intelligent  and  gentlemanly  barber,  when  two 
young  men,  gloriously  drunk,  rushed  in  with,  “  How  are 
ye,  Joe  ?  Give  us  the  time  o’day.  Ha !  what’s  up  ? 
Put  ’em  through  my  boy!  Go  it  boots!  ha!”  That 
was  about  the  style.  To  print  the  talk  of  men  under 
such  circumstances  soon  uses  up  your  interrogation  and 
exclamation  points.  I  saw  my  game  at  a  glance,  and 
tipping  a  wink  to  the  barber  to  “  keep  dark”  and  “lay 
low,”  I  instantly  assumed  the  disguise  of  drunkenness, 
and  began  to  complain  to  them  that  the  Pawtucket  folks 
had  got  to  be  so  mighty  temperate  that  a  poor  fellow 
who’s  a  stranger  in  the  place  couldn’t  get  a  glass  o’  grog 
to  wet  his  whistle  for  love  nor  money. 

These  generous  fellows  assured  me  in  a  very  sympa¬ 
thetic  way :  “  There’s  liquor  enough  in  Pawtucket,  if 
you  know  where  to  find  it.”  ^ 

“  Jest  so  ;  but  there’s  the  trouble,  you  see.  I’m  a 
stranger  in  the  place  and  how  should  I  know  ?  ” 

“  Come  along,”  said  they,  “  and  we’ll  show  you.” 


“  what’ll  you  have  ?  ” 


89 


So  away  went  the  trio,  arm  in  arm,  over  Pawtucket 
bridge,  the  doctor  in  the  middle,  and  a  roaring,  shout¬ 
ing  rowdy  on  each  side.  Reader,  had  you  been  there, 
as  a  stranger,  and  looked  on,  it  would  have  bothered 
you  to  have  decided  which  was  the  drunkest  of  the 
three. 

They  are  at  Crane’s  door,  and  one  goes  on  up  the 
street ;  the  other  volunteering  to  do  the  honors  of  the 
city. 

The  rowdy  and  the  doctor,  both  pretty  well  “  set  up,” 
walk  right  in  with  the  dash  peculiar  to  men  in  their 
condition,  and  the  young  rowdy  who  “  knows  the 
ropes,”  pushes  right  along  to  the  rear  or  liquor  room, 
his  much  obliged  friend,  the  doctor,  being  just  at  his 

side.  Young  rowdy  draws  for  himself  (he  is  a  regular 

\ 

customer)  and  drinks. 

“  Now  stranger,  what’ll  you  have  ?  ” 

Thinking  to  call  for  something  they  had  not  got,  the 
doctor  answers  :  “  If  I  take  anything,  I’ll  take  a  glass 
of  ale.” 

There  was  no  ale  in  sight,  and  he  supposed  there  was 
none  in  the  building. 

“  Sartin,”  says  rowdy,  “  all  right,  the  ale’s  in  the 
front  store.”  So  Crane  and  rowdy  lead  on  to  the  beer 
pump. 

“  Now,”  says  the  doctor,  with  an  occasional  hiccup, 
and  an  amazing  amount  of  particularity  :  “  I  want  you 
to  understand,  now,  that  I  don’t  go  none  of  your  swill 
stuff.  If  your  beer’s  all  right  I  shall  go  it,  and  if  it  isn’t 
I  shan’t.” 

“It’s  all  right,”  says  Crane,  and  he  pumps  up  a  full 
glass,  the  foam  piling  up  on  the  surface  as  big  as  a  tea- 


90 


44  didn’t  I  CALL  FOR’T,  HA  ?  ” 

cup  or  a  cat’s  head,  and  passes  it  to  the  boozy  doctor. 
With  that  careless  disregard  for  all  else  but  the  drink, 
usually  manifested  by  such  as  he  appeared  to  be,  he  lifts 
the  glass  to  the  level  of  his  mouth,  and  with  a  tremen¬ 
dous  puff  blows  the  foam  into  Crane’s  face,  and  all  over 
his  vest.  He  took  it  in  good  part,  simply  brushing  off 
the  foam,  for  such  blundering  heedlessness  is  expected 
of  men  half  drunk.  The  doctor  tastes  the  beer. 

44  It’s  sour.” 

44  No  it  isn’t,”  says  Crane,  44  it’s  first-rate.” 

“  You  lie,”  roared  the  doctor,  44 1  guess  I  know  beer, 
but  ”  (dropping  his  voice,)  44  never  mind,  we  won’t  quarrel 
about  it.  But  what  do  you  say  now — on  the  whole  ;  had 
I  best  drink  it  or  not  ?  You  see  how  it  is  with  me ; 
what  do  you  say  ?  Speak  it  now  like  a  man,  what  do 
you  say  ?  ” 

Thus  appealed  to,  Crane  replied,  44  On  the  whole  I 
guess  I  would  not  drink  any  more  to-night.  I  think 
you  have  got  enough.” 

The  doctor  concluded  he  was  right,  and  set  down  the 
glass. 

44  But  I’ll  pay  you  for  it.” 

44  No,”  says  Crane, 44  if  you  don’t  drink  it  you  needn’t 
pay.” 

44  But  look  here,”  says  the  doctor,  44  didn’t  I  call  for’t, 
ha  ?  ” 

44  Oh,  yes  !  of  course  you  did.” 

44  Well  now,  I  want  you  to  understand  that  I’m  no 
sneak,  anyhow,  and  when  I  calls  for  things  I  pays  for 
’em ;  what’s  to  pay  ?  ” 

44  If  you  pay  anything,  it’ll  be  three  cents.” 

44  All  right,”  and  fumbling  in  his  pocket  the  doctor 


“  YOU  can’t  CHEAT  ME.” — DOUBTED  !  91 

drew  forth  the  three  coppers  with  his  right  hand,  and 
counting  them  out  with  great  precision,  one  by  one,  into 
the  open  palm  of  the  left  hand,  he  exclaimed  : 

“  There  you  have  it.  That’s  right,  ain’t  it  ?  That 
makes  it  all  square  ’twixt  you  and  I,  don’t  it  ?  ” 

Crane,  glad,  no  doubt,  to  get  rid  of  so  irritable  and 
awkward  a  customer  replied,  “  Yes,  all  right.” 

“  Well,  then,”  said  the  doctor,  “  good  bye  to  you,” 
and  out  he  went. 

In  half  an  hour  he  was  before  a  large  audience  in  one 
of  the  churches,  and  while  commenting  on  the  then 
present  status  of  the  liquor  system,  told  the  audience 
where  he  had  been  and  what  he  had  seen. 

The  talk  of  the  village,  the  following  day,  was  largely 
on  Mr.  Crane,  Dr.  Jewett,  the  beer  and  liquor  trade, 
and  the  practical  joke  played  by  the  doctor  on  the  old 
veteran  liquor  seller.  Crane  insisted,  however,  that 
there  was  no  counterfeit  about  that  drunk,  that  it  was 
the  genuine  article  ;  and  he  asked,  “  Do  you  think  I  don’t 
know  when  a  man  is  drunk  ?  You  can’t  cheat  me. 
there.  A  man  may  reel  and  pitch  about  like  a  drunk¬ 
ard,  but  he  can’t  make  his  eye  drunk.  That  man’s  eye 
was  drunk.  Why,  I  stood  close  to  him  when  he  was 
fretting  about  the  beer,  and  my  eye  wasn’t  more  than 
two  feet  from  his,  and  that  eye  of  his  was  drunk.  You 
can’t  cheat  me.” 

When  Crane  found  that  it  was  quite  impossible  to 
make  even  his  own  customers  believe  that  the  doctor 
was  drunk  (for  the  barber,  at  the  shop,  saw  him  put  on 
the  disguise  of  drunkenness  in  an  instant,  and  so  stated 
to  all  inquirers),  he  became  very  wrathy,  and  declared 
faat  any  traveling  humbug  of  a  lecturer  who  would 


92 


DESERVED  A  THRASHING. 


play  such  a  game  on  a  decent,  respectable  citizen, 
deserved  a  thrashing,  and  he  swore  by  all  current 
oaths  that  he  would  “  pound  that  scamp  to  a  jelly  ”  if 
he  could  get  his  eye  on  him  before  he  should  leave 
Pawtucket. 

The  doctor  heard  of  his  terrible  threats,  and  took  his 
next  morning’s  exercise  in  front  of  Crane’s  store,  pacing 
backward  and  forward,  and  affording  the  dispenser  of 
rum  and  beer  all  the  opportunity  he  could  have  desired 
to  execute  his  threats.  His  courage,  however,  was,  like 
much  of  his  beer,  only  foam  or  froth.  He  wisely  kept 
his  head  within  his  den. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  PAST. 

The  Convention  of  1838 — The  great  petition — A  committee  -worth 
remembering — Looking  ahead — Hats  off,  gentlemen  ! — The  law 
of  1838 — Wholesale  dealers  to  the  front! — They  meet — A  Paix- 
han  shell — The  lesson  of  past  events — Study  and  reorganization. 

My  readers,  who  were  not  residents  of  Massachusetts 
from  the  year  1835  to  1840,  will  better  understand  the 
history  of  my  labor  in  that  state,  with  that  of  the  lead¬ 
ing  friends  of  the  reform,  and  the  events  which  fol¬ 
lowed,  after  the  perusal  of  a  brief  chapter  on  the  pro¬ 
gress  of  the  good  work  during  the  period  intervening 
between  the  dates  above  given,  and  on  the  condition  of 
the  cause  in  the  state  when  I  commenced  my  labor  in 
May,  1840. 

Prior  to  the  year  1838,  the  power  to  grant  licenses 
for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  within  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  was  vested,  by  law,  in  a  Board  of  Com¬ 
missioners  for  each  county,  whose  term  of  office  was 
three  years.  As  the  temperance  sentiment  of  the  state 
grew  stronger,  and  hatred  of  the  liquor  traffic  more  in¬ 
tense  and  universal,  the  people  began  to  clamor  for  the 
abrogation  of  the  license  system.  As  the  law  stood, 
the  end  they  desired  could  only  be  attained  by  electing 
County  Commissioners  who  would  refuse  to  license. 
The  triennial  election  of  those  officers,  therefore,  turned 

(93) 


94 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1838. 


on  the  temperance  question,  or  rather  on  the  known 
views  and  purposes  of  the  nominees  in  regard  to  license. 
Many  sharp  battles  had  been  fought  at  the  polls  in  the 
election  of  these  officers  before  the  year  183T.  In  a 
majority  of  the  counties,  anti-license  Boards  had  been 
elected,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  prohibitory 
clauses  of  the  law  alone  were  operative.  Violators  of 
the  law  were  very  generally  prosecuted,  and  as  a  conse¬ 
quence,  the  open  traffic  had,  in  some  of  the  counties, 
ceased  to  exist.  The  law  was  occasionally  but  secretly 
violated,  like  all  other  laws,  but  the  penalties  were  too 
severe  to  be  surely  incurred  by  open  violations.  Thus, 
on  a  part  of  her  territory,  Massachusetts  had  a  trial  of 
prohibition  before  the  year  183T. 

Everywhere  the  results  were  satisfactory,  not  only  to 
those  whose  active  efforts  had  secured  the  change,  but 
to  all  lovers  of  good  order  and  good  morals. 

The  immediate  diminution  of  crime  and  pauperism 
was  perhaps  the  most  striking  result  of  the  new  order 
of  things,  but  its  influence  to  increase  productive  indus¬ 
try  and  thrift  among  the  people,  to  promote  domestic 
and  social  happiness,  and  a  more  general  attention  to 
religious  observances,  were  features  scarcely  less 
marked. 

These  results  of  partial  prohibition  converted  thou¬ 
sands  to  our  doctrines  and  practice  who  had  resisted  all 
our  arguments,  or  who  had  been  too  indifferent  to  the 
whole  matter  to  listen  to  them,  and  greatly  stimulated 
effort  to  secure,  to  the  entire  state  and  all  its  interests, 
the  benefits  certain  to  result  from  general  prohibition. 

At  a  State  Convention,  held  in  Boston  in  February, 
1838,  it  was  resolved  that  an  effort  should  be  made  to 


- 


0 


. 


.  • 


JOHN  PIERPONT. 


THEY  MEET  A  PAIXHAN  SHELL. 


107 


some  of  the  pipes  through  which  the  heads  of  the  liquor 
department  were  wont  to  irrigate  a  drunken  world  with 
rum  and  whisky,  would  be  choked  up. 

Although  these  honorable  gentlemen,  lords  of  the 
brandy  pipe,  the  wine  butt,  or  the  money  bags,  often  ex¬ 
pressed,  in  the  hearing  of  respectable  citizens,  their  pro¬ 
found  contempt  for  the  petty  dealers,  knights  of  the 
toddy-stick,  they  would,  as  stated,  back  them  in  the 
courts,  because  they  knew  quite  well  that  they  were  a 
necessary  part  of  the  machinery — the  finger  ends  of  an 
organization  of  which  they  constituted  the  head,  trunk, 
and  limbs,  and  they  understood  that  it  would  go  hard 
with  the  said  head  and  trunk  if  the  fingers  should  be 
cut  off.  Now  that  a  blow  had  been  struck  in  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  the  new  law  which  threatened  the  entire  retail 
trade,  the  dealers  in  liquor  by  hogsheads  and  cargoes 
saw  the  necessity  of  coming  to  the  front.  They  held 
meetings  in  Boston  for  consultation,  and  prepared  an 
address  to  the  public,  which  was  signed  by  Daniel  L. 
Gibbins,  a  millionaire,  who  had  accumulated  his  wealth 
by  the  liquor  trade,  and  eleven  others,  all  wealthy  men 
and  in  good  repute,  except  as  connected  wifli  their  traf¬ 
fic.  We  cannot  afford  space  here  for  the  very  plausible 
and  ingenious  document  sent  forth  by  these  twelve  liquor 
dealers,  or  for  the  courteous  but  scathing  and  exhaustive 
review  of  it  by  L.  M.  Sargent  in  a  series  of  letters  which 
appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Mercantile  Journal. 
The  friends  of  temperance  in  Massachusetts  had  great 
reason  to  congratulate  themselves  on  such  champions  as 
God  had  given  them  in  John  Pierpont,  Lucius  M.  Sar¬ 
gent,  and  others,  at  this  important  period  of  the  reform. 
These  men  hurled  no  pebbles  into  the  camp  of  the 


108 


THE  LESSON  OF  PAST  EVENTS. 


enemy,  but  great  explosive  shells,  which  made  terrible 
havoc  where  they  fell ;  and  in  those  days,  bad  men,  who 
with  their  bad  hearts  had  sound  heads,  did  not,  without 
great  inducements,  place  themselves  within  the  range 
of  our  reformatory  artillery. 

The  ten  letters  of  Mr.  Sargent  to  that  committee  of 
liquor  dealers,  and  his  twelve  letters  to  the  Hon.  Harri¬ 
son  Grey  Otis  of  Boston,  who,  in  Feb.  of  1839,  headed 
a  petition  for  the  repeal  of  the  law,  together  constitute 
the  most  trenchant  and^exhaustive  discussion  of  all  im¬ 
portant  points  at  issue  in  this  warfare  that  has  ever  been 
given  to  the  public.  I  purpose  soon  to  reprint  them, 
with  what  I  hope  will  be  regarded  as  a  fitting  introduc¬ 
tion  ;  and  I  know  that  all  who  are  now  engaged  in 
earnest  efforts  for  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic, 
will  thank  me  for  placing  in  their  hands  so  complete  an 
armory  of  keen  and  polished  weapons. 

The  law  was  repealed  in  1840,  and  the  state  fell  back, 
so  far  as  legislation  was  concerned,  on  the  law  of  1837, 
leaving  the  question  of  license  or  no  license  with  the 
county  commissioners.  There  was,  therefore,  no  gen¬ 
eral  throwing  open  the  flood-gates  to  a  deluge  of  rum 
on  the  repeal  of  the  law  of  1838,  for  in  a  large  majority 
of  the  counties  our  commissioners  still  refused  to  license 
the  traffic,  and  only  the  prohibitory  part  of  the  law  of 
1837  was,  therefore,  operative.  The  friends  of  the 
cause  were  in  no  wise  disheartened,  and  at  the  annual 
Convention  which  immediately  followed  the  repeal  of 
the  law,  expressed  in  no  doubtful  terms  their  determin¬ 
ation  to  battle  with  the  wicked  liquor  system  till  its  an¬ 
nihilation  should  be  secured. 

This  speedy  repeal  of  a  law  which  had  been  passed 


UP  GUARDS,  AND  AT  THEM. 


115 


depth  that  for  the  last  thirty  years  they  have  never  come 
to  the  surface.  Their  championship  of  the  grog-shops 
lost  them  Rantoul  and  others  of  the  best  men  of  their 
party. 

I  have  before  stated  that  the  friends  in  Massachusetts 
were  by  no  means  disposed  to  abandon  the  work  before 
them,  on  account  of  the  defeat  they  had  encountered  in 
the  loss  of  their  law.  In  addition  to  the  regular  system 
of  educational  operations  which  the  Massachusetts  Tem¬ 
perance  Union  were  at  the  time  adopting,  and  which 
will  be  more  fully  described  hereafter,  they  determined 
to  secure  practical  prohibition,  if  possible,  in  those  coun¬ 
ties  of  the  State,  where  under  the  old  law  of  183T, 
which  was  now  again  in  force,  the  County  Commission¬ 
ers  still  granted  licenses,  and  hence,  when  and  where, 
in  a  county,  a  new  Board  of  Commissioners  were  to  be 
elected,  they  made  special  efforts  to  secure  an  anti¬ 
license  law  Board.  Where  neither  of  the  political  par¬ 
ties  put  in  nomination  men  pledged  against  license,  the 
friends  of  the  cause  called  a  convention  forthwith,  and 
nominated  an  independent  ticket,  whom  they  could  trust. 
Repeatedly  they  elected  their  ticket  over  the  nominees 
of  both  parties.  Thus  by  the  vote  of  the  people,  and 
generally  by  large  majorities,  the  licensing  of  the  retail 
liquor  trade  had  been  condemned  in  every  county  of  the 
State  before  the  close  of  the  year  1846. 

It  astonished  professional  politicians  and  wire-pullers 
very  much,  to  discover,  as  they  did  about  those  days,  that 
the  people,  when  sober,  were  learning  to  dispense  with 
their  services,  and  to  transact  their  own  business  in 
their  own  way,  by  open,  manly,  and  direct  methods,  that 
required  no  tricks  or  cunning  contrivances  of  theirs. 


116 


A  PICTORIAL  ILLUSTRATION. 


They  found  themselves  ignored  altogether.  When  I 
commenced  my  labor  as  an  agent  of  the  Massachusetts 
Temperance  Union,  in  April,  1840,  I  found  the  friends 
engaged  in  the  efforts  I  have  before  described,  to  secure 
the  election  of  anti-license  commissioners  throughout 
the  State.  This  was,  of  course,  in  addition  to  the  usual 
educational  efforts  of  the  Union.  A  short  time  before 
leaving  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  for  my  new  field  of 
labor  in  Massachusetts,  I  caused  to  be  published  a  litho¬ 
graphic  print,  intended  to  convey  through  the  eye  to  the 
minds  of  those  who  might  study  it,  my  view  of  the  then 
existing  state  of  the  temperance  cause.  It  was  entitled, 

DEATH  ON  THE  STRIPED  PIG. 

Some  words  of  explanation  will  be  necessary  to  the 
proper  understanding  of  its  aims  and  character. 

By  reference  to  the  law  of  1838,  found  on  a  former 
page,  the  reader  will  perceive  that  thereby  the  sale  of 
liquors,  in  quantities  less  than  fifteen  gallons ,  was  prohib¬ 
ited.  That  Legislature  would  not  have  made  even  that 
exception,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  laws 
of  the  General  Government  allowed  the  importation  of 
certain  liquors  in  fifteen  gallon  casks.  To  avoid  any 
conflict,  therefore,  with  National  Legislation,  that  excep¬ 
tion  was  made.  The  opponents  of  the  law  called  it,  in 
derision,  “  The  Fifteen  Gallon  Law,”  and,  led  on  by  un¬ 
scrupulous  and  contemptible  demagogues,  the  meanest 
variety  of  the  genus  homo  now  in  existence,  they  made 
a  deal  of  capital  against  the  law,  by  asserting  that  it 
was  hard  on  the  u  poor  man,”  and  “  hard  working 
classes,”  who  must  be  deprived  of  their  accustomed 
stimulants,  because  not  able  to  buy  fifteen  gallons  at  a 


A  SHALLOW  TRICKSTER. 


117 


time,  while  the  favored  and  petted  rich,  who  could  buy 
from  the  importers,  could  revel  in  unlimited  luxury  in 
the  highest  heaven  of  fuddledum,  which  is  certainly  not 
very  high. 

When  the  law  went  into  operation,  all  sorts  of  devi¬ 
ces  were  adopted  to  neutralize  its  provisions  and  avoid 
its  penalties.  At  a  military  muster  held  at  Dedham,  in 
Norfolk  county,  some  mercenary  and  lawless  wag  had 
arranged  to  evade  the  law  by  giving  a  drink  to  all  who 
should  patronize  a  certain  wonderful  exhibition  he  was 
prepared  to  make  ;  nothing  less  than  a  pig  striped  like 
a  zebra  from  snout  to  tail.  A  picture  of  the  wonderful 
animal  adorned  the  tent  under  which  it  was  exhibited. 
A  four-pence-half-penny,  or  six  cents,  was  charged  for 
admission.  Of  course  the  pig  had  been  striped  for  the  oc¬ 
casion  with  a  paint  brush,  and  the  trick  was  rendered  per¬ 
fectly  transparent  by  the  first  glance.  The  patrons  of 
the  show,  however,  after  learning  the  cheat,  were  so¬ 
laced  by  a  glass  of  grog,  for  which  they  were  not  re¬ 
quired  to  pay,  and  all  went  on  “  as  merry  as  a  marriage 
bell,”  until  the  sheriff,  with  his  posse,  gobbled  up  the 
whole  concern,  tent,  pig,  and  exhibitor,  and  took  them 
from  the  field.  This  despicable  device  of  the  liquor 
seller,  however,  afforded  much  merriment  to  that  large 
and  thoughtless  class  who  will  have  their  laugh,  even 
though  it  be  at  the  expense  of  a  good  man  or  a  good 
cause. 

“  The  watch  dog’s  voice,  that  bayed  the  whispering  wind, 

And  the  loud  laugh,  that  spoke  the  vacant  mind.” 

Even  a.  very  loud  laugh,  is  not,  of  itself,  by  any  means,* 
evidence  of  a  “  vacant  mind,”  but  a  laugh  at  the  mani- 


118 


HARD  AT  WORK,  BUT  HAPPY. 


fest  discomfiture  of  a  good  man,  or  a  good  cause,  is  a 
square  blow  in  the  face  of  virtue,  and  a  rich  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  joy  of  Hell.  I  would  bite  my  lip  until  the 
blood  flowed,  if  I  could  not  otherwise  suppress  a  laugh, 
under  such  circumstances.  The  press  of  the  country, 
especially  that  portion  of  it  controlled  by  whiskey-drink¬ 
ing  editors,  told  the  story  of  the  Striped  Pig  with  great 
eclat.  I  determined  to  turn  the  popularity  of  the  pig  to 
account,  and  make  it,  if  possible,  contribute  to  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  the  temperance  cause. 

I  also  published,  soon  after,  a  print,  which  was  in¬ 
tended  as  a  blow  at  the  License  System.  Large  numbers 
of  both  were  sold,  and  for  many  years  copies  might 
be  found  pasted  up  in  the  various  workshops  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  the  study  of  which  has,  I  trust,  helped  to  fix  in 
many  minds,  just  views  of  the  liquor  traffic,  and  of  the 
iniquity  involved  in  licensing  it. 

At  no  period  of  my  life  have  I  labored  with  more 
pleasure  to  myself  or,  in  my  judgment,  more  to  the  profit 
of  the  enterprise  than  for  the  first  year  of  my  service  in 
Massachusetts.  I  had  not  then,  to  be  sure,  the  experi¬ 
ence  which  I  now  have,  and  could  not  then  discuss  cer¬ 
tain  phases  of  the  subject  with  so  much  ability  as  I 
think  I  could  now,  after  a  further  study  and  discussion 
of  the  subject  for  thirty  years.  I  was,  however,  more 
hopeful  then  than  now  of  a  speedy  triumph  of  our  cause  ; 
not  because  I  had  more  confidence  in  the  soundness 
of  our  principles,  or  a  higher  estimate  of  the  benefits 
which  would  result  to  all  the  interests  of  society  from 
their  general  acceptance  and  from  the  practice  of  absti¬ 
nence  by  the  masses,  but,  because  I  gave  credit  to  the 
friends  of  the  cause,  in  advance,  for  more  wisdom  and 


NVTHAN  CROSBY. 


- 


HOW  THE  PLAN  WORKED. 


127 


My  first  report  of  labor  in  Massachusetts  was  as  fol¬ 
lows.  I  give  it  with  but  slight  abbreviations  because  I 
wish  the  reader  to  have  a  very  definite  idea  of  our  modes 
of  operation  in  184(1,  under  the  new  plan. 

Grafton,  May  1st,  1840. 

Friend  Crosby:  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  will  pro¬ 
ceed  to  give  you  a  sketch  of  my  adventures  since  I  left  the  city  of 
notions  on  the  business  of  my  agency.  My  first  appointments  were 
in  the  town  of 

LEICESTER. 

My  lectures  were  well  attended.  I  laid  before  the  people  at  the 
close  of  each  lecture  our  plan  of  operations,  and  found  the  friends 
ready  and  anxious  to  cooperate  in  carrying  it  out.  At  the  close  of 
each  lecture  a  goodly  number  gave  their  names  as  permanent  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  State  Union  on  the  conditions  prescribed.  The  day 
following  my  first  lecture,  a  Mr.  Dewey,  a  staunch  friend  of  the 
cause,  volunteered  to  aid  me  in  obtaining  members.  I  obtained  in 
Leicester  sixty-three.  The  clergy  of  the  town,  Rev.  Mr.  Nelson  and 
Rev.  Samuel  May,  are  tried  friends  of  the  cause,  and  exert  a  most 
salutary  and  extensive  influence.  There  is  one  place  in  the  village 
licensed  to  sell  liquors,  but  the  authorities  of  the  town  have  so  much 
regard  to  the  welfare  of  their  townsmen,  that  they  have  limited  the 
operations  of  the  establishment  to  the  business  of  poisoning  travel¬ 
lers — and  have  taken  a  bond  from  Mr.  Bond  that  he  will  not  under 
any  circumstances  sell  to  towns-people.  This  is  tying  the  paws  of 
the  beast  pretty  effectually ;  for  it  is  the  neighborhood  custom  which 
mainly  supports  these  nurseries  of  crime. 

On  Saturday  I  visited  the  town  of 

SPENCER. 

Here  an  appointment  had  been  made  for  an  address  to  the  child¬ 
ren  at  three  o’clock,  P.  M.,  and  also  for  a  lecture  to  the  adult  popu- 
Lition  in  the  evening.  The  occurrence  of  a  fire  in  the  village 
^•evented  the  meeting  of  the  children.  (I  omit  here  the  account 
V  the  fire  and  some  curious  incidents  in  connection  with  it.)  I  ob- 


128 


THE  WAY  OUR  PE  AX  WORKED. 


tained  but  few  members  in  Spencer,  for  the  lecture  was  not  as  well 
attended  as  it  would  have  been  bad  it  not  been  for  the  fire,  and  the 
next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  I  had  no  opportunity  of  calling  on  the 
people  at  their  homes. 

This  is  all  I  can  report  from  Spencer  at  present. 

The  town  will  do  its  part  in  the  support  of  the  good  cause,  finan¬ 
cially  and  otherwise,  when  it  has  a  fair  opportunity. 

On  Sabbath  evening  I  lectured  in 

BROOKFIELD,  SOUTH  PARISH. 

The  rain  poured  down  in  torrents,  and  but  few,  of  course,  came 
out.  On  Monday  afternoon,  I  again  addressed  the  people  in  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Nichols’  Church,  and  obtained  a  number  of  members  to 
the  Union.  On  Monday  evening  I  addressed  a  fine  audience  at 

BROOKFIELD,  WEST  PARISH. 

The  following  day,  Tuesday,  through  the  active  co-operation  of 
Mr.  Joseph  A.  Sprague,  and  Mr.  Harrison  Barnes,  whose  kindness 
I  shall  lono;  remember,  I  obtained  additional  members  to  the  Union 
swelling  the  list  to  thirty-six  for  Brookfield.  These  gentlemen 
assured  me  that  the  town  should  number  its  fifty  members,  and  I 
doubt  not  thev  will  secure  that  number,  with  the  aid  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Nichols,  and  Wm.  Howe,  of  the  South  Parish,  both  of  whom  volun¬ 
teered  to  secure,  as  members,  the  names  of  some  friends  whom  I 
could  not  see.  They  have  one  tavern  in  the  South  Parish,  where 
they  carry  on  the  business  of  drunkard-making  pretty  extensively. 
Do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  do  not  say  that  they  sell  to  drunkards 
at  this  place.  Oh  no  !  they  only  sell  to  sober  men  until  they  become 
drunkards,  which  is  infinitely  worse.  In  the  West  Parish  too,  there 
is  one  establisment  that  Ilath-a-way  to  change  sober  men  into  sots ; 
and  still  another  near  bv,  of  the  same  sort.  A  man  was  found 
drowned  in  a  mill  pond  near  the  village  a  short  time  since  with  a 
bottle  of  Rum  in  his  pocket.  He  had  long  been  noted  for  his  intem¬ 
perate  habits.  I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  am  not  able  to  give  you 
the  name  of  the  heartless  wretch  who  filled  that  bottle,  for  that  I 
consider  the  most  important  fact  to  publish  in  connection  with  the^ 
affair.  Could  I  have  obtained  the  name,  1  would  have  written  ® 
out  here  in  staring  capitals,  and  requested  your  printer  to  have 
it  in  large  full  faced  type,  so  that  it  might  have  looked  as  black®! 
possible. 


i 


f 

FINANCE.  139 

/ 

* 

I  our  system  of  operations  by  the  Washingtonian  move- 

('ment,  let  me  not  be  understood  as  claiming  perfection 
for  the  system  we  were  pursuing.  Though  a  great 
advance  on  anything  that  had  preceded  or  followed  it, 
it  had  some  manifest  defects.  Its  financial  arrange- 
!  ments  w^ere  not  the  best  conceivable,  though  they  were 
the  best  I  judge  which  could  have  been  adopted  at  the 
time,  and  under  the  circumstances.  The  true  method, 
undoubtedly,  is  that  adopted  afterwards  by  the  Order  of 
the  Sons  of  Temperance,  and  subsequently  by  the  Good 
Templars  and  other  close  organizations.  Small ,  but 

definite  sums,  received  at  regidar  intervals ,  from  each 
member  of  the  primary  organization ,  a  certain  portion 
of  the  aggregate  amount  to  be  employed  for  the  support 
of  local  operations,  and  another  portion  appropriated  to 
the  support  of  a  State  organization.  That  is  the  true 
plan.  It  meets  every  necessity  of  the  case,  and  is  per¬ 
fectly  reliable.  That  excellent  financial  plan — with  the 
blessed  pledge  of  abstinence, — the  fraternal  kindness 
shown  to  the  fallen,  and  to  those  striving  for  a  better 
life,  with  the  regularity  of  their  meetings,  constitute 
the  real  strength  and  efficiency  of  the  Temperance 
Orders.  The  sentinel  at  the  door,  the  trappings  and 
the  tinsel,  the  multiplicity  of  offices  and  forms,  the 
engrossment  thereby  of  too  much  precious  time  in  their 
weekly  and  occasional  meetings,  and  the  tendency  of 
the  social  features  to  engross  too  much  attention,  are 
their  elements  of  weakness. 


CHAPTER  X. 


The  clergy  and  their  general  faithfulness — Mistakes  ancf  their 
results  —  “  Experiences,” —  their  potency — More  blunders — The 
clergy  disaffected — Close  organizations,  their  origin— Practical 
results — Different  organizations  compared — What  is  needed. 

I  have  already  stated  that  the  great  mass  of  the 
clergy  of  Massachusetts,  cooperated,  heartily,  with  the 
Temperance  Union  and  its  agents.  Nineteen-twentieths 
of  them  were  total  abstainers,  and  besides  occasional 
sermons,  very  many  of  them  gave  the  wicked  liquor 
system  a  blow,  whenever  and  wherever  they  had  oppor¬ 
tunity. 

In  those  days  an  orthodox  minister  who  wished  to 
illustrate  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity,  found  conven¬ 
ient  illustrations  in  the  existence  of  liquor-saloons,  bar¬ 
rooms,  and  drink-shops  generally,  and  in  the  fact  that 
men  would  engage  in  distilling  and  importing  liquors, 
and  in  burdening  public  and  private  conveyances  with 
huge  hogsheads  of  rum,  and  other  liquors,  of  which 
ninety-nine  gallons  in  every  hundred  would  contribute 
to  the  production  of  guilt  and  misery,  or  aggravate 
evils  already  existing.  The  wickedness  of  licensing 
such  a  traffic  came  in  for  its  full  share  of  denunciation. 
In  the  prayers  of  the  church,  the  temperance  cause  war 
remembered,  and  earnest  supplications  were  made  in 
hundreds  of  worshiping  congregations  every  Sabbath, 
for  the  special  blessing  of  God  on  the  enterprise.  The 


CLOSE  ORGANIZATIONS. 


149 


traffic.  The  Protestant  churches  of  the  town  or  village 
are,  generally,  in  sentiment  and  practice,  strongly  op¬ 
posed  to  the  liquor  system ;  not  all  their  members,  by 
any  means,  but  an  overwhelming  majority.  Will  it  do, 
now,  to  trust  to  these  churches  as  our  primary  organiza¬ 
tions  in  the  battle  we  have  to  fight  with  the  rum  power 
at  the  polls,  finally,  as  well  as  elsewhere  ?  No.  Em¬ 
phatically  and  forever  no ,  and  for  reasons  obvious.  Its 
members  are  not  unanimous  in  their  opposition  to  the 
liquor  system,  and  an  organization  to  answer  our  pur¬ 
pose  must  be.  Again,  the  terms  of  admission  to  the 
churches ,  any  one  of  them ,  will  exclude  large  numbers  of 
earnest  friends  of  our  cause ,  who,  though  not  professing 
Christians,  hate  and  purpose  to  war  with  the  liquor  sys¬ 
tem,  not  from  the  motives  which  mainly  impel  the  ear¬ 
nest  Christian,  but  because  it  is  a  deadly  foe  to  the  peace 
of  their  families  and  their  business  interests,  to  the  se¬ 
curity  of  life  and  property,  to  the  social  and  moral  well¬ 
being  of  society,  to  education  and  civil  government.  For 
all  these  reasons,  thousands,  aye,  thank  God,  millions  of 
our  countrymen  and  countrywomen  hate  the  liquor  sys¬ 
tem  and  will  join  us  in  our  war  upon  it,  who  could  not 
join  the  church.  They  do  not  consider  themselves  now 
proper  subjects  for  church  membership.  The  churches, 
then,  will  not  answer  our  purposes  as  primary  organiza¬ 
tions,  for,  I  repeat,  their  terms  of  membership  will 
exclude  a  multitude  who  must  go  with  us,  or  we  cannot 
secure  controlling  majorities.  Still,  the  question  re¬ 
turns,  how  shall  we  organize  our  strength  in  the  town 

or  village  of - ?  Organized  it  must  be,  or  we 

cannot  employ  it  effectively,  for  unorganized  opposition 
to  the  Devil  and  his  plans  and  servants,  never  amounts 


150 


CLOSE  ORGANIZATIONS. 


to  much.  Suppose  we  establish  there  a  Division  of  the 
Sons  of  Temperance,  a  Lodge  of  Good  Templars,  or  a 
Temple  of  Honor.  We  know  beforehand,  all  past  expe¬ 
rience  and  observation  tells  u.s,  that  we  cannot  organize, 
under  those  forms,  but  a  portion  of  our  real  strength  in 
that  locality.  Yet,  knowing  this,  many  will  insist  upon 
a  close  organization,  and  will  have  nothing  else ;  and  if 
a  few  urge  that  an  open  organization,  such  as  we  worked 
under  prior  to  the  year  1840,  can  be  made  to  embrace  all 
the  real  earnest  friends  of  total  abstinence  in  the  town 
or  village,  certain  parties,  zealous  friends  of  close  organ¬ 
izations,  declare  that  open  organizations  are  “  played 
out,”  that  “  they  cannot  be  sustained,”  that  u  the  young 
people  will  not  take  any  interest  in  them,”  and  that  “  it 
is  the  young,  mainly,  whom  we  wish  especially  to  influ¬ 
ence,”  &c.,  &c.  The  older  portion  of  the  people,  the 
clergy,  the  leading  members  of  the  churches,  and  other 
influential  citizens,  seeing  and  hearing  all  this,  and  fear¬ 
ing  that  if  they  press  objections  to  close  organizations, 
which  they  honestly  entertain,  it  may  dampen  the  ardor 
of  the  younger  portion  of  the  people,  who,  for  obvious 
reasons,  generally  manifest  a  decided  preference  for  them, 
will  waive  their  objections  and  allow  the  proposed  new 
organization  to  take  that  form.  A  few  of  those  who,  at 
an  earlier  period,  worked  in  open  societies,  and  would 
much  prefer  such  an  one  now,  will  yield  their  preferences 
and  go  into  the  new  close  organization.  I  did  so,  and 
thousands  of  others  have  done  so,  not  because  we  pre¬ 
fer  them,  or  believe  them  best,  but  because  the  popular 
pressure  was  in  that  direction,  and  I,  for  one,  did  not 
wish  to  make,  what  to  many  might  seem  factious  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  plans  and  purposes  of  my  brethren.  I  have 


WHAT  IS  NEEDED. 


153 


made  to  see  the  necessity  of  other  forms.  They  have 
been  tried  for  nearly  twice  the  period  during  which  we 
worked  in  open  organizations,  and  for  one,  I  think  it 
time  to  look  at  the  facts  as  they  are,  and,  instead  of  an 
obstinate  adherence  to  existing  and  partial  methods  only, 
see  if  some  measures  cannot  be  devised  for  bringing  our 
whole  force  into  the  field. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Op^p  Societies,  their  advantages  —  Discussion  before  the  masses 
wonderfully  effective — Comparisons — -  Our  Progress  too  slow  — 
Why  I  thus  speak — Our  younger  brethren — Progress  before  the 
year  1840 — Some  change  essential  to  a  triumph — Three  classes 
will  not  join  the  Orders — Why  ? — Regalia — They  love  the  drink 
— Out  of  Date  ? — No — How  they  work  in  California — A  glorious 
success — A  supposition — Policy  our  ground  of  choice. 

The  advantages  of  the  open  society  may  be  stated 
thus:  their  working  involves  less  expense,  so  that  with 
a  similar  system  of  quarterly  or  monthly  fees,  which 
may  be  readily  incorporated  into  their  constitution  or 
working  plans,  they  can  expend  more  money  in  the  edu¬ 
cational  work  of  the  enterprise.  A  large  portion  of  the 
money  raised  in  close  organizations  is  expended,  neces¬ 
sarily,  for  the  rent  and  furnishing  of  halls  or  proper 
places  of  meeting.  Open  societies  used  the  churches,, 
vestries,  chapels,  town  halls,  and  court  houses,  and  gen¬ 
erally  without  charge  except  the  expense  of  lighting  and 
and  warming  in  winter  and  the  pay  of  the  sexton.  They 
could  do  it  now  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  Nothing  is  ex¬ 
pended  in  open  societies  for  regalia,  staves  of  office,  and 
emblematic  decorations.  As  the  opening  exercises, 
prayer,  singing,  and  the  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the 
last  meeting,  and  occasionally  the  report  of  a  committee, 
did  not  usually  occupy  more  than  a  third  part  of  the  even¬ 
ing,  more  time  could  be,  and  was  devoted  to  a  discussion 
of  the  general  subject,  or  those  local  results  of  the  liquor 

(154) 


DISCUSSION  BEFORE  THE  MASSES  EFFECTIVE.  155 

system,  often  so  terrible,  and  when  properly  discussed, 
so  well  calculated  to  awaken  and  keep  alive  in  the  com¬ 
munity  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  whole  liquor  system. 
In  open  organizations,  no  time  is  consumed  by  ceremo¬ 
nies  of  initiation,  the  installation  of  officers,  &c.,  hence 
more  can  be  given  to  the  reading  of  instructive  docu¬ 
ments  and  the  discussion  of  the  subject  before  the 
masses.  Still  more  important  advantages  were  found 
in  the  attendance  of  families  as  such,  comprising,  often, 
the  grey  haired  father  and  mother  with  their  beloved 
offspring,  the  stalwart  young  man,  the  beautiful  daugh¬ 
ters,  and  even  the  dear  little  boys  and  girls,  often  very 
young.  These  all  used  to  go  to  temperance  meetings 
together.  Fathers  and  mothers  never  listen  to  truths 
which  concern  the  well  being  of  their  families  under 
circumstances  so  well  calculated  to  make  those  truths 
impressive  and  effectual,  as  when  the  dear  ones  are  by 
their  side  and  where  they  can  watch  the  effect  of  the 
truths  uttered  on  their  young  minds,  as  their  influence 
may  be  seen  in  the  agitated  countenance,  in  the  eye 
sparkling  with  interest,  kindling  with  indignation  at  the 
recital  of  terrible  wrongs,  or  dim  with  tears  when  bu¬ 
sman  sorrows  and  sufferings  are  the  subject  of  remark. 
e Seven-eighths  of  our  weekly  temperance  meetings  now 
pj.re  held  in  private  rooms.  Few  of  the  aged  are  there 
3  give  to  the  proceedings  the  dignity  and  gravity  which 
'-dieir  presence  generally  confers,  and  the  children  are 
left  at  home ;  and  worst  of  all,  the  drinking  portion  of 
the  community,  the  very  portion  which  we  wish  to  in¬ 
fluence  by  our  arguments  and  appeals,  are  excluded. 
They  have  not  the  pass-word. 

What  a  blow  would  be  struck  at  Christianity,  if,  from 


156 


COMPARISONS. 


the  regular  meetings  of  the  sanctuary  or  the  weekly 
meeting  for  religious  conference,  sinners  were  excluded, 
unless  they  came  with  the  pass-word,  or  would  declare 
beforehand  their  readiness  to  join  the  church.  At  the 
close  of  the  exercises  in  open  societies,  you  can  take 
advantage  of  any  good  impressions  made  to  get  men  to 
join  the  society,  which  they  can  do  on  the  spot  by  sign¬ 
ing  the  pledge  of  abstinence,  it  being  a  part  of  the  con¬ 
stitution,  and  from  that  moment  the  pledged  man  is  a 
member.  In  close  organizations,  considerable  time  must 
elapse  and  certain  ceremonies  intervene,  before  mem¬ 
bership  is  attained. 

Once  more.  Those  petty  rivalries  which  are  now  fre¬ 
quently  occurring  between  the  different  Orders,  where 
they  exist  in  the  same  community,  and  often  between 
subordinate  and  neighboring  organizations  of  the  same 
Order  ;  and  those  unbrotherly  strifes  for  offices  and 
honors,  which  too  often  occur  now,  were  unknown  in  the 
open  organizations,  absolutely  unknown.  No  doubt,  my 
brethren  who  have  embraced  the  cause  within  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  and  never  worked  in  open  societies 
at  all,  will  be  surprised  at  these  utterances ;  but  men, 
past  fifty,  who  worked  in  the  open  societies  which  existed 
in  New  England  by  thousands  before  the  year  1840  r 
will  fully  understand  me  ;  such  men  as  Senator  Wilsoc- 
of  Massachusetts,  Gov.  Buckingham  of  Connecticu  d 
Neal  Dow  of  Maine,  and  Amos  C.  Barstow  of  Rhode  If  g, 
and,  and  thousands  of  others  past  the  age  of  fifty.  Le  , 
our  younger  brethren,  before  they  express  their  unbelief 
in  the  historical  truth  of  my  statements,  ask  such  men, 
and  I  am  willing  that  their  statements  shall  stand, 
whether  for  my  justification  or  condemnation.  How  far 


REGALIA. 


165 


seen  many  excellent  men  wear  with  apparent  pleasure, 
and  which  probably  cost  them  not  less  than  twenty-five 
dollars.  Say,  if  you  please,  that  it  is  a  mere  matter  of 
taste.  Granted.  But  why  should  we  tramihel  our  or¬ 
ganizations  with  needless  trappings,  to  wear  which  many 
of  our  educated  and  strongest  men  must,  if  they  join  us, 
crucify  their  natural  or  acquired  tastes.  If  a  ready 
mark  of  recognition  is  wanted,  would  not  a  modest  piece 
of  colored  ribbon  tied  in  the  button-hole  of  a  gentle¬ 
man’s  coat,  or  a  small  rosette  pinned  on  a  lady’s  dress, 
answer  the  purpose  as  well  ?  So  small  a  change  as  that 
would,  I  honestly  believe,  have  added  during  the  last 
twenty  years  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  both  to 
the  Sons  of  Temperance  and  Good  Templars  ;  and  if  in¬ 
crease  of  numbers  and  influence  is  wanted,  why  should 
so  much  be  sacrificed  to  a  childish  love  of  display.  A 
glance  over  the  world  will  show  that  it  is  not  the  edu¬ 
cated  and  cultivated  classes  or  nations  who  delight  in 
trappings,  gew-gaws,  and  glittering  externals.  Least  of 
all  does  it  become  workers  in  a  genuine  reform  to  spend 
money  and  time  in  needless  decorations.  We  are  striv¬ 
ing  to  impress  the  Christian  world  with  the  truth  that 
true  temperance  is  the  handmaid  of  religion,  and  in  that 
effort  we  shall  succeed  best,  with  the  least  possible  dis¬ 
play  of  tinsel  and  trappings. 

A  third  class,  which  is  by  no  means  a  small  one,  find 
in  the  peculiarities  of  our  present  organizations  a  con¬ 
venient  excuse  for  standing  aloof  and  doing  nothing  to 
advance  the  cause,  who  would  feel  compelled  to  join  and 
labor  in  an  open  society  if  one  existed  in  tlieir  neighbor¬ 
hood,  because,  should  they  fail  to  do  so,  it  would  be  at 
once  suspected  that  they  had  private  and  very  particular 


166 


THEY  LOVE  THE  DRINK. 


reasons  for  objecting  to  a  pledge  of  abstinence.  That 
is  the  real  fact  in  their  case.  They  have  a  secret  love 
for  the  drink  which  they  do  not  care  to  acknowledge, 
and  which  our  present  arrangements  enable  them  to 
conceal  while  claiming  to  belong  to  one  of  the  classes  be¬ 
fore  described.  Great  numbers  of  such  individuals  joined 
open  organizations  prior  to  the  year  1840.  They  were 
compelled  to  do  so  and  to  practice  abstinence  by  the 
circumstances  surrounding  them.  A  great  evil  was 
abroad  in  the  land,  invading  the  homes  of  the  people 
and  warring  on  all  public  interests.  But  one  mode  of 
arresting  it  had  ever  been  discovered — the  organization 
of  those  opposed  thereto,  under  a  pledge  of  abstinence. 
No  excuse  was  possible  for  not  joining  in  a  popular  cru¬ 
sade  against  the  common  enemy,  growing  out  of  any 
peculiar  or  objectional  features  of  our  organizations,  for 
they  possessed  none.  They  could  not  plead  that  associ¬ 
ations  of  the  people  to  accomplish  desirable  results  were 
unnecessary,  ’for  most  of  them  belonged  to  one  or  more 
societies — religious,  political,  or  industrial.  They  wished 
to  be  reckoned  among  the  friends  and  supporters  of  all 
good  institutions  and  enterprises,  and  there  was  no  way 
to  manifest  their  concern  for  the  removal  of  this  great 
scourge,  but  to  take  their  stand  with  the  associated 
friends  of  temperance.  Now  such  men  find  it  quite  easy 
to  excuse  themselves  from  any  participation  in  the  work 
of  reform,  on  account  of  the  peculiar  features  of  our 
organizations.  _  I  want  all  reasonable  ground  of  excuse 
removed,  so  that  no  respectable  citizen  shall  be  able  to 
occupy  a  doubtful  position. 

But  some  reader  may,  perhaps,  suggest  that  open  or¬ 
ganizations  would  not  now  serve  our  purpose  as  they  did 


HOW  THEY  WORK  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


167 


formerly ;  that  they  were  adapted  to  a  certain  stage  of 
the  enterprize  which  we  have  long  since  passed.  We 
have,  however,  satisfactory  evidence  that  they  can  be 
rendered  as  efficient  now  as  at  any  former  period.  In 
proof  of  that  statement,  take  the  following  history  of  a 
late  movement  in  California.  It  appeared  in  a  religious 
paper  published  in  Chicago,  Ill., — the  “  Advance” — for 
October  5th,  of  the  present  year,  1871. 

HOW  THEY  CLOSED  THE  GROG  SHOPS  IN  A  CALIFORNIA  TOWN. 

There  are  different  theories  of  temperance  reform,  but  any  of  them 
are  good  enough  that  succeed  when  put  in  practice.  Some  object  to 
“  total  abstinence’'  and  temperance  pledges,  but  they  work  well 
sometimes.  As  witness  this  record  from  California : 

Santa  Cruz,  being  one  of  the  younger  towns  of  the  State,  has  but 
just  now  emerged  from  its  era  of  grog  shops,  whisky  saloons,  and 
rum  holes.  Every  new  American  town  seems  to  be,  somehow,  con¬ 
demned  to  start  in  this  way.  Some  are  burned  to  death,  and  ruined 
in  the  process.  And  some  throw  off  these  evils,  and  come  out  into 
a  virtuous  and  prosperous  life. 

Santa  Cruz  has  taken  the  latter  course.  Last  New  Year’s,  ten 
men,  habitual  drinkers,  some  of  them  just  going  into  the  embrace 
of  delirium  tremens,  visited  with  a  remarkable  spasm  of  good  sense, 
determined  to  reform  !  To  reform,  they  knew  very  well,  was  to  stop 
drinking.  They  could  not  “  taper  off.”  Some  of  them  had  tried 
that  too  many  times  to  have  any  faith  in  it.  They  were  in  earnest, 
and  determined  to  take  a  course  that  was  sure  to  succeed.  That 
course  was  the  plainest  thing  in  the  world.  It  was  to  stop  drinking 
intoxicating  drinks.  They  did  stop.  They  pledged  themselves ,  then 
and  there ,  to  one  another ,  not  to  drink  a  drop)  of  anything  of  the  kind. 
They  were  not  religious  men.  But  some  of  them  were  educated 
men.  Some  had  not  yet  wasted  all  their  substance,  a  few  had  hand¬ 
some  estates  left,  and  all  were  in  the  prime  of  life. 

Like  other  Americans,  when  they  undertake  to  do  anything  to¬ 
gether,  they  organized , — they  formed  a  society , — a  total  abstinence 
society.  They  opened  it  to  all  who  would  join  them  in  their  pledge , 


168 


A  GLORIOUS  SUCCESS. 


men  or  women.  Their  wives  joined,  gladly  enough.  Many  of  their 
companions  in  drinking  habits  joined  them.  Many  people  of  life¬ 
long  habits  of  total  abstinence  joined  them  too. 

The  saloon  keepers  said,  “  Oh !  yes,  we’ve  seen  this  tried  before. 
It  will  last  a  few  weeks,  as  long  as  the  novelty  is  on.”  And  so, 
with  wise  looks,  they  quietly  waited  for  the  reaction  to  come,  and 
the  brisk  business  that  would  return  to  them  with  it.  Meanwhile, 
the  new  society  grew.  Members  were  proposed,  and  admitted  every 
Monday  evening, — they  met  weekly. 

From  the  original  ten  they  came  to  be  fifty,  seventy-five,  a  hund¬ 
red,  a  hundred  and  fifty.  And  now  their  membership  is  two  hundred. 
The  reform  came  to  he  the  town  talk.  Nothing  could  be  said  against 
it.  Even  the  liquor-sellers,  whose  stocks  were  on  hand,  whose  rents 
were  running  on,  and  whose  bills  to  the  wholesalers  were  coming: 
due,  could  not  say  a  word,  for  hadn’t  men  a  right  to  stop  drinking, 
as  well  as  to  drink,  if  they  wanted  to  ? 

The  churches  quickly  and  heartily  seconded  the  movement.  In  fact,  its 
commencement  is  probably  owing  to  the  private  persuasion  of  one 
member  of  the  Methodist  church  with  one  or  two  of  the  original  ten, 
to  stop  drinking.  The  ministers  preached ,  and  many  of  the  Christian 
people  joined  the  society.  There  was  joy  in  mnny  houses,  where 
there  had  been  despair  before.  Not  less  than  forty  or  fifty  families 
are  now  temperance  homes,  with  all  the  consequent  thrift,  comfort, 
and  hope,  which  a  year  ago  were  threatened  with  the  ruin  so  sure  to 
come  upon  the  drunkard. 

The  dram-sellers  waited  in  vain.  A  majority  of  them  got  tired 
of  waiting.  They  closed  their  doors,  and  went  about  other  business. 
Instead  of  a  reaction,  came  a  grand  celebration  !  The  whole  popu¬ 
lation,  almost,  turned  out  and  held  a  celebration  in  a  grove.  It 
brought  tears  to  many  eyes  to  see  the  long  procession  that  day,  with 
its  banners  and  its  bands  of  music, — a  spirited  and  noble  celebration, 
in  the  interest  of  social  order,  domestic  peace,  and  true  religion. 
The  people  who  originated  this  movement  were  not  church-goers ,  nor 
were  their  families.  Nor  are  they  now.  But  many  of  them  begin  to 
fall  in.  Well  known  Christian  families  joined  them  in  their  reform 
society,  and  they  are  gradually  becoming  attendants  at  church. 
Three-quarters  of  a  year  have  now  passed  away,  and  there  has  been 
no  reaction.  Very  few  have  withdrawn  from  the  society,  and  verv 


A  GLORIOUS  SUCCESS. 


1G9 


few  indeed  have  violated  tlieir  pledge  and  been  dropped.  The  great 
object  is  to  get  in  every  drinking  person ,  and  save  him  by  total  absti¬ 
nence,  before  it  is  too  late.  They  have  succeeded  in  many  cases, 
where  success  was  a  great  victory. 

This  reform  has  put  a  different  face  on  this  community,  you  may 
be  sure.  We  have  just  had  our  State  election  and  every  lady  was 
surprised  at  its  unusual  orderliness  in  Santa  Cruz.  It  was  the 
theme  of  remark  all  day,  and  the  papers  of  the  next  day  commented 
upon  it.  Total  abstinence  made  it  so,  nothing  else. 

I  have  observed  this  reform  carefully  all  the  year,  and  I  believe 
it  genuine,  and  likely  to  be  permanent.  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to 
report  it.  It  has  not  been  my  privilege  to  know  of  many  of  the 
kind  in  California,  hitherto.  I  hope  there  will  be  more,  hereafter, 
notwithstanding  our  wine-growing  and  brandy-making, — things 
greatly  against  it,  to  be  sure.  It  this  example  of  local,  spontaneous 
reform  suggests  the  trial  of  the  same  to  other  places  needing  the 
like,  within  the  reach  of  your  circulation,  they  may  be  assured,  from 
our  experience  here,  that  the  results  will  be  eminently  satisfactory. 

It  has  already  been  imitated  in  our  county.  Similar  societies  have 
been  formed  in  Soquel,  and  Watsonville,  and  elsewhere,  embracing 
at  this  time  a  membership  of  about  five  hundred,  including  the  soci¬ 
ety  in  this  town. 

S.  II.  W. 

Could  anything  be  more  simple  and  satisfactory  than 
the  operation  therein  described  ?  I  would  have  the 
reader  notice  the  period  of  time  during  which  this  desir¬ 
able  work  was  done.  Ten  months  at  the  outside.  Please 
notice  also,  that  all  who  would  sign  the  pledge  of  absti¬ 
nence  were  admitted  to  membership — both  sexes — all 
ages.  There  was  no  committee  to  consider  and  report 
on  applications  for  membership,  or  balloting  for  or 
against  their  admission.  No  long  ceremony  of  initia¬ 
tion,  occupying  precious  time  greatly  needed  for  inter¬ 
esting  and  instructive  discussion. 

We  would  have  our  Christian  readers  also  observe 


8 


170 


A  SUPPOSITION. 


especially  the  conduct  of  the  clergy,  and  church  mem¬ 
bers  of  Santa  Cruz,  in  relation  to  the  movement  described. 
“  Well  known  Christian  families  joined  them  in  their 
reform  society,  and  they  are  gradually  becoming  attend¬ 
ants  at  church.’ 9  The  italics  are  mine. 

Suppose  now  some  well  meaning,  but  ill  informed 
minister  or  layman  had,  at  the  very  inception  of  this 
reformatory  effort,  suggested  to  the  parties  concerned 
therein,  that  intemperance  was  but  “  one  shoot  of  the 
old  root  of  sin,”  and  that  the  true  way  to  assail  it  was 
through  the  church,  especially  appointed  for  warring 
upon  all  forms  of  sin,  and  further,  that  no  movement 
which  does  not  aim  directly  at  the  thorough  conversion 
of  men,  can  be  effective,  or  will  reward  the  labor,  &c.,  &c. 
Suppose,  I  say,  that  such  nonsense  had  been  industriously 
preached  to  the  people  of  Santa  Cruz  during  the  month 
in  which  this  society  originated,  and  they  had  listened 
to  and  believed  it,  what  would  have  happened  ?  Satan 
and  the  liquor-sellers  might  have  rejoiced  over  a  grand 
work  arrested  in  its  forming  stage,  and  the  drunkards 
would  most  likely  have  remained  drunkards  still. 

In  the  managements  a  farm  rendered  well  nigh  val¬ 
ueless  through  neglect  or  bad  culture,  the  skillful  and 
experienced  farmer  will  not  despair  of  success  because 
he  may  not  be  able  to  effect  the  renovation  of  all  its 
acres  at  once. 

Oh,  when  will  good  men  estimate  the  soundness  and 
value  of  their  theories  and  favorite  methods  of  proced¬ 
ure,  by  honest  comparisons  of  practical  results ! 

Reader,  if  you  would  desire  to  be  eminently  useful  to 
your  generation  and  country  in  connection  with  the 
temperance  reform,  let  me  urge  you  to  read  over  and 


OUR  TEMPERANCE  POETS. 


175 


not  be  surprised  that  I  speak  of  the  other  eight  short 
poems  referred  to,  as  better  than  my  own,  or  some  of 
them  at  least,  when  I  record  that  two  of  the  number 
were  furnished  by  the  two  brothers,  William  H.  and 
George  S.  Burleigh,  whose  splendid  intellects  have  been 
at  the  service  of  the  temperance  reform  from  their  very 
boyhood.  For  one,  I  heartily  thank  God  that  some  of 
the  most  distinguished  poets  of  our  age  and  country  have 
never  prostituted  their  powers  by  singing  the  praises  of 
the  filthy  and  obscene  god,  Bacchus.  Every  stanza  and 
line  of  Pierpont,  Whittier,  and  the  Burleighs,  have  been 
consecrated  to  the  dethronement  and  destruction  of 
vice,  the  crowning  and  exaltation  of  freedom  and  virtue, 
and  the  purification,  elevation,  and  advancement  of  our 
race,  in  all  that  renders  men  truly  wise,  good,  great  and 
happy.  As  a  specimen  of  my  lighter  style  of  composi¬ 
tion,  by  which  I  sought  to  give  interest  to  our  temper¬ 
ance  publications,  at  that  period  of  the  reform  of  which 
I  am  now  writing,  I  insert  here  two  of  the  articles 
referred  to.  It  should  be  remembered  by  the  reader 
that  these  were  written  hastily,  in  the  intervals  of 
severer  labor,  and  for  the  specific  purpose  before  stated. 
No  one  can  be  more  thoroughly  aware  of  their  defects 
than  I  am,  but  they  certainly  contributed  to  give  added 
interest  to  reformatory  publications,  and  thus  to  advance 
a  great  and  good  work,  and  that  is  more  than  can  be 
said  of  very  many  of  the  more  pretentious  efforts  of 
those  who  jingle  words  and  syllables  in  rhyme. 


176 


FOURTEEN  O’CLOCK. 


FOURTEEN  O’CLOCK. 

Night  o’er  the  earth  her  raven  wing  had  spread, 
Hens  had  retired,  and  men  had  gone  to  bed, 

When  two  spruce  dandies  took  it  in  their  head 
To  visit  Sandy’s  shop, 

And  take  a  social  drop 

Of  whiskey-punch,  spiced  sling,  or  “  Tom  and  Jerry ;  ” 
And  while  with  curious  skill 

He  mixed  th’  inspiring  draught, 

They  stories  told,  and  laughed  : 

Then  did  their  glasses  fill, 

And  while  they  quaffed, 

Cracked  their  coarse  jokes,  and  made  themselves  quite 
merry. 

Now,  gentle  reader,  with  your  kind  permission 
We’ll  leave  them  there,  and  make  a  slight  digression. 


FOURTEEN  O’CLOCK. 


177 


A  little  spark  alights  upon  the  ground, 

And  seizing  on  the  dry  leaves  scattered  round, 
Kindles  at  length  a  very  pretty  fire, 

Which,  having  no  respect  for  man’s  fine  labors, 
Burns  up  your  house,  then  seizes  on  your  neighbors, 
While  to  the  very  heavens  the  flames  aspire. 
Burning  roofs  fall, 

For  aid  men  call ; 

The  fire,  with  blazing  fury,  still  drives  on, 

Until  (its  work  of  devastation  done) 

It  leaves  a  heap  of  smouldering  ashes  there, 
Which  Sorrow  may  extinguish  with  a  tear. 

Thus  causes  small,  through  folly  or  neglect, 

Produce  oft-times  a  terrible  effect, 

Draining  from  mortal  eyes  oceans  of  tears. 

Oft  the  deceitful,  treacherous,  sparkling  glass 
Has  sunk  the  man  of  wisdom  to  an  ass, 

Or  something  like  one,  all  except  the  ears. 

The  rum  goes  in,  and  common  sense  goes  out; 
Genius  and  learning  both  are  put  to  rout, 

And  empty  as  his  pockets  leave  his  head ; 
Kindly  affections  hasten  to  depart, 

(Each  grace  and  virtue  dead,) 

And  hissing  vipers  nestle  in  his  heart. 

With  lustrous  eyes,  intelligent  and  keen, 

As  slaughtered  pigs,  in  Boston  market  seen ; 
With  fiendlike  scowl  or  idiotic  laugh, 

•  And  tongue,  for  mouth  like  his,  too  big  by  half, 
He  bawls  as  constant  as  a  weaning  calf; 

A  silly  subject  for  contempt  or  pity, 

Yet  in  his  own  opinion  wondrous  witty. 

The  fiend,  who  sneaks  about,  to  get  his  claw 
On  thoughtless  souls,  wherewith  to  fill  his  maw, 
Whene’er  he  sees  men  in  this  wretched  state, 
Laughs  as  though  he  would  split  his  sooty  hide, 


178 


FOURTEEN  O’CLOCK. 


41 


And  all  his  black  apprentices  beside 

Shake  their  long  tails,  with  fiendish  joy  elate. 

Such  man  becomes,  and  such  these  tipplers  were, 

By  frequent  sips  of  Sandy’s  liquors  rare. 

Night’s  half-way  house  old  father  Time  had  passed, 
And  left  two  milestones  in  his  track  behind, 

And  onward  toward  the  third  was  journeying  fast, 

When  to  their  homes  our  heroes  seemed  inclined. 
Sandy  politely  guides  them  to  the  door, 

And  kindly  held  the  light ; 

For  ’twas  a  very  dark  and  dreary  night, 

And  now  the  rain  did  like  a  torrent  pour. 

Drunkards  need  space  to  travel  in,  and  they 
Their  zigzag  journey  took  toward  Bi'oachva,y ; 

They  reached  it,  and  pursued  their  course  along, 
Cheering  old  night  with  fragments  of  old  song. 

We  said  the  rain  fell  fast,  and  so  it  did, 

And  down  the  gutter  like  a  river  flowed ; 

And  as  with  gathering  strength  along  it  sped, 

Bore  on  its  breast  a  very  filthy  load ; 

But  whence  derived,  we  shall  not  here  declare, 

Lest  we  might  give  offence  to  ears  polite ; 

Yet  to  prevent  mistake,  and  set  all  right, 

We’ll  hint  that  hogs  and  horses  travel  there. 

Into  this  Mississippi  of  Broadway, 

While  city  lamps  did  shed  a  fitful  gleam,  » 

Our  drunken  friends  by  some  mischance  did  stray ; 
And  as  they  reached  the  middle  of  the  stream, 

A  church  clock  struck  to  tell  how  time  sped  on ; 
And  to  be  sure  and  keep  their  reckoning  good, 

They  Tial  ted  in  the  middle  of  the  flood, 

And  stamping  with  their  feet,  they  counted  one. 
Again  it  struck ;  they  stamped,  and  tallied  two , 

While  high  above  their  heads  the  water  flew. 


A  COTTON  SPECULATION. 


179 


Three ,  said  the  clock,  and  as  tlieir  feet  replied, 

The  filthy  water  splashed  from  side  to  side. 

Another  clock,  behind  the  first  in  time, 

From  old  St.  Paul’s,  just  now  began  to  chime; 

And  while  its  tones  reechoed  through  the  town, 

Amid  the  flowing  filth  their  feet  came  down. 

Six,  they  exclaimed ;  when  from  a  neighboring  spire 
Another  bell  rang  out  the  alarm  of  fire. 

This  gave  the  drunken  dandies  quite  a  sweat ; 

For  though  from  head  to  heels  they  now  were  wet 
With  mingled  gutter- wash,  a  falling  shower, 

Which  on  their  crazy  heads  did  constant  pour, 

Yet  there  they  stood,  and  stamped,  and  grunted  still, 
And  on  their  ears  each  stroke  successive  fell. 

They  reached,  at  length,  fourteen;  and  quite  amazed, 
One  thus  exclaimed,  while  wildly  round  he  gazed, 
Through  all  my — (hie) — life ,  some  twenty  years  or  more , 
I  never  knew  it — (hie) — quite  so  late  before” 


A  COTTON  SPECULATION. 

In  Bristol  County,  in  a  certain  town, 

Not  fifty  miles  from  one  they  call  Fall  River, 

A  trader  lived,  a  man  of  some  renown  ; 

And  though  he  peddled  grog  they  called  him  clever. 
He  chanced  to  have  a  very  worthy  wife, 

Pos&ssed  of  real  nobleness  of  mind, 

Benevolent  and  kind ; 

And  swayed  by  her  he  lived  a  decent  life. 

Upright  in  some  respects,  yet  still  for  gold, 

The  devil’s  own  elixir,  Rum,  he  sold ; 

And  while  promoting  thus  the  public  good, 

Took  in  exchange  the  cash,  or — what  he  could. 


180 


A  COTTON  SPECULATION. 


His  house  stood  distant  from  liis  store 
Some  twenty  rods  or  more ; 

And  toward  the  close  of  a  fair  summer’s  day 
A  wretched  beggar  thither  bent  his  way. 


His  eye  was  sunken  and  his  look  was  sad ; 

His  beard,  unshaven,  o  er  his  bosom  hung ; 

While  tattered  rags,  with  which  the  wretch  was  clad, 
Stirred  by  the  evening  breeze,  around  him  swung. 
An  old  crushed  hat  protected  his  grey  head, 

While  his  thin  locks  were  streaming  in  the  wind. 
Ho  moved  along  with  tottering,  feeble  tread, 

Bending  beneath  a  pack 
Which  rested  on  his  back, 

While  his  lean  dog  was  trotting  close  behind. 

He  mounts  the  steps  and  gently  rings  the  bell ; 

The  wife  invites  him  in  and  sets  a  chair, 

And  while  the  wretch  his  tale  of  woe  doth  tell, 

There  glistens  in  her  eye  a  sympathetic  tear. 

She  offers  food,  but  that  he  does  not  want — 

And  seeing  what  a  scare-crow  dress  he’s  got  on. 


A  COTTON  SPECULATION. 


181 


Concludes  of  clothing:  he  must  sure  be  scant, 
Especially  of  that  part  made  of  cotton. 

For  through  his  tattered  rags,  all  glazed  with  dirt, 
(Although  she  has  a  most  observant  eye), 

Collar  or  wristbands  she  cannot  espy, 

Or  e’en  the  smallest  vestige  of  a  shirt. 

Then  quick  as  thought  she  to  her  chamber  flew, 

And  from  her  husband’s  ample  store 
Selected  one  he  oft  had  wore, 

And  in  the  beggar’s  lap  the  needed  garment  threw. 

He  stammered  out  his  thanks,  and  in  his  pack 
He  stowed  the  gift,  and  swung,  it  on  his  back ; 

Then  took  his  leave,  and  toward  a  neighboring  wood 
He  bent  his  steps  and  made  what  speed  he  could. 

There  seated  on  a  log  he  viewed  his  prize, 

As  any  tippler  would  with  gin  inflamed  eyes ; 

And  thus  communed  he  with  himself:  “  Shall  I, 

To  please  the  eyes  of  other  people,  die  ? 

True,  I  am  shirtless,  but  then,  what’s  the  harm  ? 

We  need  more  than  our  clothes  to  keep  us  warm. 

To  clothe  the  outward  man  is  sure  a  sin, 

If  we  neglect  the  better  part  within. 

’  Tis  true  “  man  wants  but  little  here  below,” 

Yet  wants  that  little  often — that  we  know. 

Rags  will  buy  gin,  and  gin,  I  sure  must  have, 

Without,  though  clad  in  silks,  I  could  not  live. 

So  here  it  goes  !”  The  garment  then  he  tore, 

And  with  the  rags  he  hasted  to  the  store, 

And  had  his  empty  bottle  filled  once  more. 

As  out  the  wretch  was  passing  with  his  gin, 

By  chance  the  merchant’s  lady  happened  in, 

And  to  her  husband  thus  :  “  What  had  he  there 
Within  that  bottle?” — “What?  Some  gin  my  dear.” 
“  And  could  that  wretched  beggar  thus  deceive  ? 

Can  tears  tell  lies  ?  What  shall  we  then  believe  ? 


182 


jimmy’s  mill. 


Stooping  and  sad,  he  tottered  to  our  door, 

And  begged  I  would  ‘  have  pity  on  the  poor/ 

While  like  a  child  he  wept,  I  could  but  heed 
His  prayer,  and  gave  him  what  he  seemed  to  need: 

He’d  not  a  rag  of  cotton  on  his  skin ; 

And  had  he  still  the  cash  to  purchase  gin  ? 

“  He  did  not  pay  in  cash,”  the  man  replied. 

“  Not  cash ! — and  what  had  he  to  pay  beside  ?” 

“  Why,  rags.”  “  He  barter  rags  !  What  sort  ?  Speak  quick ; 
I  fear  the  wretch  has  played  us  both  a  trick.” 

“  Here  is  the  bundle,”  said  he,  il  if  you  doubt 
What  it  contains,  just  pull  the  fragments  out.'’ 

She  drew  them  forth,  and  made  the  fellow  stare, 

By  loud  exclaiming,  “  Sir,  see  there !  see  there ! ! 

There  is  your  name — I  wrought  it  there  myself — 

And  that  old  ragged,  dirty,  lying  elf, 

As  great  a  hypocrite  as  e’er  was  born, 

Has  sold  you  your  own  shirt,  in  pieces  torn.” 

Then,  staring  in  the  face  of  her  liege  lord, 

And  suiting  well  her  action  to  the.  word, 

With  bitter  irony,  she  thus  exclaimed: 

“  Dear  sir,  don’t  look  confounded  or  ashamed ; 

For  one  of  moderate  means,  and  humble  station, 

You’ve  made  a  splendid  cotton  speculation .” 

Another  style  of  composition  which  occasionally 
served  to  relax  a  little  the  facial  muscles,  often  made 
rigid  by  the  contemplation  of  wrong  and  injustice,  and 
to  promote  good  nature  among  those  engaged  in  war, 
was  entitled, — “  Mechanical  Rhymes  for  these  Curious 
Times  f  or  “Crists  from  Jimmy1  s  Mill.11 

It  appears  that  Jimmy,  who  contributed  to  the  work 
of  reform  by  turning  the  crank  of  our  printing  press, 
(they  are  now  worked  by  steam,  in  fact  they  were  then, 
jgow  that  I  think  of  it,  for  Jim  was  a  steam  engine  of 


jimmy’s  mill. 


183 


the  most  approved  construction,)  had  become  thoroughly 
disgusted  with  the  newspaper  poetry  of  the  times,  and 
one  day  declared  that  he  u  cud  grind  out  betther  poetry 
nor  that  on  the  machine  which  he  tuck  over  wid  him 
from  the  ould  country.” 

“  Jimmy,”  inquired  I,  “  have  you  indeed  a  machine 
for  grinding  out  poetry  ?  ” 

“  Troth  I  have,  and  it  wud  do  your  heart  good  to  see 
it  work  when  it  is  in  order,”  said  he. 

I  bade  Jimmy  brush  up  the  machine,  have  its  joints 
or  journals  well  oiled,  and  promised  that  when  I  should 
get  hold  of  some  facts  suited  to  the  purpose,  we  would 
give  the  machine  a  trial.  Many  a  grist  was  subsequent¬ 
ly  ground  out  on  that  mill,  and  so  deeply  did  some  of 
the  dear  children  of  the  old  Bay  State  get  interested  in 
these  products  of  the  machine  and  in  the  clever  Irish¬ 
man  who  they  supposed  worked  it,  that  when  Dr.  Jew¬ 
ett  was  expected  at  a  certain  point,  some'  of  the  children 
asked  their  clergyman  if  he  supposed  the  doctor  would 
“  bring  that  funny  fellow,  Jimmy,  along  with  him.” 

The  following  is  hardly  a  fair  specimen  of  Jimmy’s 
work,  as  it  will  be  seen  that  he  got  into  the  hopper  some 
facts  which  seemed  to  have  no  very  direct  relation  to 
the  principal  grist  to  be  ground.  It  is  my  opinion,  how¬ 
ever,  that  Jim  intended,  in  a  sly  way,  to  hint  to  the 
Boston  Distiller  that  he  was  not  the  first  individual  who 
had  had  the  honor  of  tumbling  into  a  fermenting  vat. 
In  fact,  that  Sambo  had  been  there  before  him.  And  I 
suspect  that  when  he  afterwards  got  in  the  facts  about 
Hainan,  which  seemed  so  inappropriate,  he  really  in¬ 
tended  to  give  the  distiller  a  hint  that  his  fate  came  very 
near  being  that  <5f  the  Persian  prime  minister,  who  got 


184 


THE  DISTILLER’S  DISASTER. 


hanged  on  a  gallows  of  his  own  construction.  Of  course 
when  the  doctor  got  hold  of  the  machine,  it  ground  out 
more  regular  rhymes  than  under  Jimmy’s  management. 

THE  BOSTON  DISTILLER  IN  THE  FERMENTING  YAT. - A  GRIST 

FROM  JIMMY’S  MILL. 

A  noted  distiller  of  Boston  fell  into  one  of  his  fer¬ 
menting  vats  a  few  days  previous  to  the  appearance  of 
the  following  article,  and  was  dragged  from  it  by  the 
hands  of  his  workmen  in  the  establishment,  but  for 
whose  timely  interference  he  must  have  lost  his  life  by 
strangulation. 

Doctor.  44  Jimmy,  have  you  learned  that  a  celebrated 
distiller  fell  into  one  of  his  fermenting  vats  a  few  days 
since,  and  came  near  losing  his  life  by  strangulation?” 

Jimmy.  44  Indaad  I  did.  I  read  it  in  the  paper  ;  and 
whin  I  told  the  matter  to  Michael  McGowan’s  wife,  she 
foch’d  a  scrame,  and  slapped  her  two  big  hands  togither, 
and  rin  capering  about  the  room  like  as  if  she’d  been 
half  mad.  4  What  ails  you  ?  ’  said  I.  4  What  ails  you  ? ’ 
said  she,  pouting  out  her  lips  and  spaking  my  own  words 
arter  me,  in  a  kind  of  mockin’  way.  4  Botheration  to 
ye  !  Doesn’t  them  same  distillers  make  the  vile  crathur 
.  that  pits  strangulation  down  the  necks  of  paple  more 
dacent  and  honest  nor  themselves  ?  Didn’t  my  own 
cousin,  Tim  Taggerty,  rest  his  sowl !  drink  the  liquor 
till  it  made  him  crazy  entirely,  and  then  put  a  rope  on 
his  neck  and  hang  up  in  the  barn  ?  and  wasn’t  that 
strangulation  ?  Didn’t  Betty  Cragin,  whin  she  was  drunk, 
roll  her  baste  of  a  carcass  on  her  own  swatc  baby,  that 
wasn’t  more  nor  sax  weeks  old,  and  smother  the  life  out 
of  it?  What  was  it  but  strangulation? .  And  now,  jist 


A  GRIST  FROM  JIMMY’S  MILL. 


185 


because  the  distiller  of  all  this  divilment  got  a  small 
taste  of  his  own  midicin,  they  put  it  in  the  papers,  and 
make  sich  a  liellaballoo — ’  ” 

Dr.  “  Hold,  Jimmy  !  I  have  no  time  to  hear  more 
of  Mistress  McGowan’s  lecture  on  strangulation;  but, 
as  you  seem  to  be  quite  interested  in  the  matter,  suppose 
you  put  the  facts  in  your  patent  rliyme-grinder,  and  turn 
us  out  something  for  the  Journal.” 

Jim.  “  Faix  !  I’ll  do  it.” 

(He  brings  out  the  machine  and  commences  opera¬ 
tions.) 


I’ll  sins  you  a  song  tliat  is  rare  and  queer, 

Of  a  naji'ar  that  fell  in  a  vat  of  beer, 

Which  was  rendered  so  fine  as  he  slowly  decayed, 

That  the  liquor  was  praised, 

Its  price  was  much  raised, 

The  business  increased,  and  a  fortune  was  made. 

Dr.  “  Jim,  you  make  strange  work.  You  were  go¬ 
ing  to  grind  out  a  song  from  facts  that  occurred  in  this 
western  world,  and  your  very  first  verse  is  about  an  old 
affair  that  happened  twenty  years  ago,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic.” 

Jim.  “  Niver  mind,  doctor,  jewel.  I’ll  come  to  it 
directly.” 


186 


A  GRIST  FROM  JIMMY'S  MILL. 


(He  turns  again.) 

One  Hainan,  the  Scriptures  relate, 

Got  mad  at  the  Jew,  Mordecai, 

And  built  for  him,  outside  the  gate, 

A  gallows  some  fifty  feet  high. 

“  Ha !  ha !  ”  said  his  wife,  “  they  will  yet  learn  to  fear  us, — 
These  stiff-necked,  obstinate  Jews ; 

Now  go  to  the  party  with  Ahasuerus, 

Be  cheerful  and  banish  the  blues 
Come,  hurry,  my  honey, 

Drink  wine  and  be  funny.” 

He  went — and,  bad  luck  to  him  !  made  such  a  bother, 

He  got  himself  hanged  jist,  instead  of  the  other! 

And  he  couldn’t  complain  of  the  way  it  was  done, 

For  they  let  down  the  drap  on  a  plan  of  his  own. 

Dr.  “Worse  and  worse,  Jimmy!  you  are  farther 
from  your  proper  subject  than  before.  You  have  wan¬ 
dered  in  point  of  distance  as  far  as  Persia ;  and  as  to 
time,  you  have  made  a  jump  backward  of  more  than  two 
thousand  years.  What  next  ?  ” 

Jim.  “  Troth,  yere  mighty  pertickular  !  If  you  don’t 
be  azy  stoppin  me,  I  won’t  grind  at  all,  at  all,  and  ye 
may  turn  ye’rself.” 

Dr.  “Well,  let  go  the  crank,  and  I’ll  give  you  a 
specimen  of  my  work  off-hand.” 

(The  Dr.  now  turns,  while  Jimmy  looks  on  in  amaze¬ 
ment.) 


The  fire  glowed  bright  beneath  the  still, 
And  fiercely  boiled  the  foaming  flood, 
Destined  the  drunkard’s  veins  to  fill, 

To  scorch  his  brain  and  fire  his  blood. 
The  workmen  cheerly  plied  their  tasks, 


A  GRIST  FROM  JIMMY’S  MILL. 


187 


When  in  the  great  distiller  came 
T’  inspect  the  work ;  and  now  he  asks, 

“  How  boils  the  flood  ?  How  burns  the  flame  ?  ” 
Vexed  that  the  hell-broth  cooks  so  slow, 

He  mounts  a  vat  with  careless  tread, 

To  stir  the  mixtures  vile  below, 

But  slips,  and  plunges  over  head ! 

Panting  and  gasping  hard  for  breath, 

He  would  have  yielded  there  to  death ; 

But  helping  hands  were  now  applied, 

Which  dragged  him  up  the  slippery  side, 

And  forth  from  that  fermenting;  vat, 

Besembhng  much  a  drowned  wharf-rat. 

Bedaubed  with  yeasty  slime  and  foam, 

Fragrant  and  dripping  as  he  passed, 

This  -great  distiller  sought  his  home — 

By  sad  experience  taught  at  last 
This  truth  contained  in  Holy  Writ : — 

Who  for  his  neighbor  digs  a  pit , 

Will  sometime  tumble  into  it  ! 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


BOUND,  AND  HOW. 

The  Widow’s  Son — In  the  “  Slough  of  Despond  ” — A  fight  for  Life — 
Victorious — The  Moral — A  Speculation — Still  moralizing — The 
Longevity  of  Reformers. 

While  a  resident  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  during  the  year 
1889,  I  had  made  the  acquaintance,  in  the  office  where 
our  temperance  paper  was  printed,  of  two  young  men, 
practical  printers,  who,  like  three-fourths  of  that  craft, 
were  pretty  free  drinkers  of  intoxicating  liquors.  They 
were  both,  however,  excellent  compositors,  and  in  com¬ 
mon  parlance  clever  fellows,  in  the  American  sense  of 
the  word  clever,  i.  e.,  well  disposed.  One  of  them,  the 
older,  James  Cary,  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  regular 
army  for  years  and  had  of  course  seen  rough  times.  I 
used  frequently  to  caution  them  against  the  habits  they 
indulged  in,  but  like  millions  of  others  they  were  igno¬ 
rant  of  the  real  relation  of  alcoholic  liquors  to  the  physical 
constitution  of  man,  and  were  under  that  spell  or  delu¬ 
sion  with  which  narcotics  blind  and  bind  their  victims. 
I  could  see  from  month  to  month,  yes,  even  from  week  to 
week,  that  the  power  of  the  habit  was  increasing,  and 
earnestly  urged  them  to  abstain  ;  but  it  was  in  vain.  “  I 
can  drink  or  let  it  alone,  as  I  choose.”  “  Don’t  worry 
about  this  child.”  “I  can  take  care  of  No.  1,”  and  “A 
man  is  a  fool  that  can’t  govern  himself  and  stop  when 

(188) 


THE  WIDOW’S  SON. 


189 


he  chooses,”  Ac.  All  this  I  had  heard  hundreds  of  times 
before.  It  was  the  old  story  over  again.  At  length  the 
younger  of  the  two,  George  W.  Warner,  (we  called  him 
Jerry,)  called  at  my  house  one  evening,  in  incipient 
delirium.  He  talked  strangely,  and  seemed  very  much 
alarmed.  I  tried  to  persuade  him  to  go  over  to  the 
Dexter  Asylum,  and  suffer  confinement  or  restraint  for 
a  few  days,  until  he  should  recover  from  his  present 
attack  and  regain  his  power  of  self-control.  He  hesi¬ 
tated,  and  said  he  would  go  home  to  his  mother’s  resi¬ 
dence,  (she  was  a  widow,)  and  think  it  over,  and  would 
come  in  and  see  me  again  in  the  morning.  That  night 
he  cut  his  throat.  Not  fatally,  however  ;  for  our  excel¬ 
lent  surgeon,  Miller,  dressed  his  wounds,  and  he  seemed 
in  a  fair  way  to  recover.  Before  the  wounds  were 
healed,  however,  he  got  out  to  a  drinking  saloon,  and 
although  its  proprietor  knew  what  had  happened  to  him 
while  in  delirium  tremens,  yet  he  handed  down  the  de¬ 
canter  of  liquor  to  him  again.  The  poor  deluded,  ruined 
man  took  another  draught ;  his  delirium  returned,  and 
he  made  another  attempt  at  self-destruction,  and  this 
time  with  success.  Thus  the  Demon  of  the  Still  and 
the  Cup  could  again  exult  as  in  the  language  of  the  song : 

• 

“  Th<3  widow  mourns  for  her  ruined  son. 

What  matter !  what  matter !  our  work  is  done ! !  ” 

His  companion,  Cary,  was  alarmed  and  drank  less  for 
a  while,  but  soon  filled  his  glass  as  before  and  hurried  on 
his  way  to  ruin.  The  typos  of  Providence,  three-fourths 
of  whom  drank  daily,  but  not  quite  so  deeply  or  fre¬ 
quently  as  Cary,  regarded  him  as  a  disgrace  to  the 
craft,  and  raised  a  purse  for  him,  on  condition  that  he 


190 


IN  THE  “  SLOUGH  OF  DESPOND.” 


would  at  once  leave  the  city  and  not  return.  He  left, 
and  went  to  Boston.  Among  the  results  of  long  intem¬ 
perance,  ulcers  had  formed  on  his  legs,  and  they  were  so 
offensive  that  he  could  no  longer  be  tolerated  in  a  prink 
ing  office.  The  workmen  would  at  once  rebel,  and  in¬ 
sist  that  he  must  leave  the  office  or  they  would.  He 
was  now  pretty  much  at  the  end  of  his  chain.  He 
could  get  no  work,  was  out  of  money,  and  for  some  days 
begged  his  food  about  the  city  and  slept,  when  night 
came,  in  an  old  building  near  the  wharf,  among  old  bar¬ 
rels  and  boxes,  as  he  afterwards  told  me.  He  had  heard 
that  I  was  in  the  city,  and  learning  my  whereabouts, 
came  into  my  office  on  Cornhill  late  one  afternoon  and 
begged  for  money  to  buy  food  and  a  cheap  lodging.  He 
had  suffered  so  much  from  the  cold  the  night  previous, 
that  he  dared  not  lodge  among  the  barrels  again.  I 
gave  him  some  money,  extorting  from  him  a  promise 
that  he  would  expend  none  of  it  for  liquor  and  would 
come  to  my  office  the  next  morning.  But  what  could 
be  done  with  this  ragged,  bloated,  diseased,  weak,  sham¬ 
bling,  degraded,  offensive  creature  ?  There  was  then  no 
inebriate  asylum  to  which  I  could  send  him.  He  was 
just  on  the  very  verge  of  death  and  a  drunkard’s  doom. 
I  remembered  him  as  he  was  when  I  first  met  him,  and 
thought  of  his  companion  and  the  manner  of  his  death. 
But  what  could  be  done  for  him  ? — that  was  the  practical 
question  which  pressed  itself  upon  my  mind ;  and  I  am 
telling  this  story,  reader,  because  I  wish  that  same 
practical  question  to  press  itself  upon  yours,  concerning 
the  wretched  remnants  of  manhood  all  about  you  which 
the  liquor  traffic  is  sending  to  the  grave.  I  went  to  my 
home  in  Newton,  a  few  miles  out  of  the  city,  stated 


A  FIGHT  FOR  LIFE. 


191 


the  case  to  my  wife,  and  after  consultation  we  decided 
to  make  an  effort  for  his  salvation  from  the  threatened 
doom.  We  had  then  six  children  of  our  own,  and  this 
was  not  a  promising  child  to  adopt  into  one’s  family ; 
could  not  bring  a  certificate  of  good  character ;  did  not 
look  very  well,  and  withal,  other  senses  revolted  at  his 
presence.  I  took  him  home,  however,  on  the  following 
day,  furnished  him  a  room,  made  such  improvements  in 
his  personate  as  soap,  water,  and  clean  clothing  could 
do,  and  he  was  “  one  of  ws.”  It  was  a  bitter  pill  to 
swallow,  that.  Those  compounded  of  aloes  and  assa- 
■  foetida  are  sugar-plums  in  comparison.  But  what  else 
could  we  do  but  to  make  the  trial  ?  The  widow’s  son, 
his  former  companion,  had  come  to  me  in  Providence, 
and  I  had  given  him — advice.  That  was  all ;  and  the 
rum-seller  and  the  razor  had  given  him — death.  Who 
would  make  an  effort  now  to  save  Cary,  if  we  did  not  ? 
That  was  the  question.  James  Cary  was  saved;  but  it 
cost  us  five  months  board  at — how  much  per  week  ? 
His  clothes  did  not  cost  much,  for  he  wore  those  I  had 
cast  off,  but  they  were  clean,  although  here  and  there 
ornamented  with  a  patch.  You  would  have  laughed, 
reader,  to  have  seen  the  set  of  them,  for  my  weight  is 
about  a  hundred  and  eighty  and  he  was  as  thin  as  Oliver 
Twist,  who  fared  sumptuously  on  gruel,  as  you  remember. 
But  what  a  struggle  the  poor  fellow  had  for  a  few  days ! 
The  presiding  genius  of  that  home,  (I  had  told  him  to 
call  her  mother,)  had  to  make  him  a  good  many  cups 
of  strong  coffee,  and  to  bake  for  him  a  good  many  cus¬ 
tards,  and  speak  to  him  a  good  many  encouraging  words, 
during  the  first  week.  “  Do  not  leave  us,  James,  how¬ 
ever  badly  you  may  feel ;  stay  with  us  come  what  may, 


192 


VISITORS. 


and  we  will  do  all  we  can  for  you.”  “  I  will,  ma’am. 
I  ’ll  stick  by,  live  or  die.  If  I  die  with  the  tremens, 
I’ll  die  here.”  “That  is  right,  James  ;  but  you  will  not 
die.  You  may  feel  sometimes  as  if  you  would  die,  but 
you  will  not ;  you  will  live  to  retrieve  the  past ;  you  have 
had  a  terrible  education,  but  never  mind,  you’ll  be  a 
man  yet.” 

Such  used  to  be  the  talk.  In  a  few  weeks,  the  ulcers 
upon  his  limbs  healed  without  other  medicine  than  pure 
water  applied  externally  and  internally,  with  clean 
dressings  or  bandages  for  his  limbs,  which  he  was  able 
personally  to  manage.  His  appetite  for  food  increased, 
and  he  gained  flesh  and  strength  daily.  His  shambling 
gait  gave  place  to  a  regular  and  firm  step,  and  at  the 
end  of  five  months  he  concluded  that  he  was  sufficiently 
strong  in  body,  mind,  and  will-power,  to  be  able  to  face 
the  temptations  of  the  city  and  to  keep  his  pledge.  I 
got  him  a  situation  in  a  printing  office  in  the  city,  gave 
the  journeymen  printers  an  opportunity  to  assist  me  in 
getting  him  an  entire  new  suit  of  clothes,  and  with  the 
first  money  he  earned  he  got  a  nice  gilt  frame  for  his  tem¬ 
perance  pledge,  and  hung  it  up  in  the  sitting-room  at  his 
boarding-house  that  all  might  see  what  were  the  views  and 
purposes  of  James  Cary,  the  reformed  man,  in  relation 
to  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.  Through  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  his  life,  which  continued  for  many  years, 
and  which  was  honored  and  blessed  by  the  gift  of  a  good 
wife  and  a  lovely  daughter,  he  kept  his  pledge.  I  visited 
him  occasionally  in  company  with  his  “  mother,”  as  he 
called  a  lady  friend  of  mine.  The  last  time  I  dined 
with  him,  he  still  resided  in  Boston  on  a  certain  street 
upon  which,  directly  opposite,  was  a  distillery.  As  I 


THE  MORAL. 


193 


stood  beside  him  looking  out  of  the  front  window,  I 
pointed  to  the  distillery  and  remarked:  “  Well,  James, 
you  have  your  old  enemy  pretty  close  at  hand.”  “  Yes,” 
he  replied,  “  but  I  thank  God,  I  am  his  master  now.” 

Reader,  the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  this  story,  for 
there  are  a  number  of  them,  are,  first,  The  tendencies 
of  the  drinking  system,  and  of  the  practice  of  absti¬ 
nence  are  quite  opposite.  Secondly,  Drunkards  who 
have  gone  down  to  a  certain  level  cannot  be  saved  with¬ 
out  great  sacrifices  on  the  part  of  somebody.  Thirdly, 
It  will  cost  us,  as  a  people,  too  much  to  rescue  thus  all  the 
drunkards,  or  one-fourtli  of  them,  which  the  liquor  sys¬ 
tem,  if  continued,  will  turn  off.  Therefore ,  and  finally, 
that  system  should  come  to  an  end.  Father,  mother, 
one  of  a  coming  crop  of  drunkards  may  be  that  bright¬ 
eyed  boy  of  yours.  Look  to  it. 

Although  genuine  reforms  are  aggressive  and  pro¬ 
gressive,  and  from  time  to  time  present  to  the  worker  in 
them,  new  problems  to  solve,  and  to  the  public,  new  and 
interesting  phases  to  contemplate,  yet  with  the  toilers, 
those  called  in  the  Providence  of  God  to  devote  them¬ 
selves  especially  to  the  work  of  demolishing  the  old  and 
constructing  the  new,  it  is  much  as  with  laborers  in 
other  callings  and  professions  ;  i.e.,  the  labor  of  to-day  is 
very  like  the  labor  of  yesterday.  There  is  a  sameness 
which  would  become  very  tiresome  to  one  who  was  simply 
laboring  for  the  money  paid  him  ;  but  to  the  laborer 
whose  heart  is  in  the  work,  who  accepts  partial  failure 
here  and  there  as  evidence  only  of  imperfection  in  the 
use  of  means,  which  it  is  his  business,  and  that  of  his 
co-workers  to  rectify ;  whose  faith  and  hope  are  con¬ 
stantly  stretching  forward  to  the  glorious  end  sought, 

9 


194 


STILL  MORALIZING. 


there  are  peculiarities  attaching  to  reformatory  labor 
which  render  it  very  pleasant. 

It  conduces  to  health,  not  only  by  giving  constant 
exercise  to  the  muscles  and  mind,  but  because  it  gives 
exercise  to  the  emotional  nature  of  man. 

The  feelings  and  affections  of  men,  their  emotional 
natures,  call  for  exercise  as  well  as  the  muscles  and  the 
mind.  So  far  as  health  is  concerned,  I  believe  it  is  far 
better  that  a  man  should  shout  for  joy  at  the  contempla¬ 
tion  of  the  grand,  the  glorious,  the  happy,  at  one  hour 
of  the  day,  scowl  with  righteous  indignation  in  view  of 
wrong  and  injustice,  at  another,  and  weep  with  the 
suffering,  and  sorrowing,  still  another,  than  simply  to 
read  in  his  easy  chair  the  morning  news,  take  his  usual 
business  rounds  during  the  day,  digest  his  meals,  and  go 
off  impassively  to  his  bed  without  his  emotional  nature 
having  been  once  stirred  during  the  day. 

We  were  made  to  feel  as  well  as  to  think  and  act ;  and 
the  non-use  of  any  of  our  powers  and  faculties  tends  to 
dwarf  them,  and  render  impossible  that  symmetrical 
growth  of  our  whole  nature  in  which  alone  is  the  highest 
health  and  happiness.  Excessive  grief,  anger,  or  joy 
may  endanger  our  health  or  life,  but  their  frequent  alter¬ 
nation,  and  moderate  indulgence,  I  believe,  are  not  only 
helpful  to  men’s  moral  and  spiritual  natures,  but  also  to 
their  bodily  health. 

Some  men  would  be  far  better  Christians  if  they 
would  occasionally  visit  the  abodes  of  the  unfortunate, 
and  witness  suffering  which  would  moisten  their  eyes ; 
aye,  more,  they  would  be  better  Christians  if  they  would 
get  angry  every  day.  Of  course,  the  passion  of  anger 
should  only  be  excited  by  the  contemplation  of  wrong, 
injustice,  cruelty  to  man,  or  beast. 


THE  LONGEVITY  OF  REFORMERS. 


195 


Certainly  there  is  enough  of  these  all  around  us  to 
excite  indignation,  if  we  were  good  enough  Christians 
to  get  angry.  These  reflections  are  preliminary,  reader, 
to  an  important  item  of  information,  and  some  hints  at 
the  philosophy  of  the  facts  stated.  First,  more  than 
three-fourths  of  the  early  earnest  workers  in  the  tem¬ 
perance  cause,  whose  labor  in  it  was  sufficiently  earnest 
and  protracted  to  make  them  extensively  known  as  re¬ 
formers,  lived  to  pass  their  seventy-fifth  year.  No  such 
longevity  can  be  shown  in  connection  with  any  other 
profession,  or  class  of  men  of  this  age.  Unless  we  con¬ 
clude  that  health  and  long  life  were  miraculously  be¬ 
stowed  upon  them  as  rewards  of  well  doing,  we  must 
conclude  that  the  facts  stated  admit  of  soffib  philosoph¬ 
ical  explanation. 

The  latter  conclusion  is  the  more,  rational,  I  think, 
but  what  is  the  explanation  ? 

That  their  abstinence  from  the  use  of  alcoholic  liquors 
conduced  to  health  is  unquestionable,  and  there  is  as 
little  reason  to  doubt  that  the  constant  and  healthful 
activity  of  brain  and  muscle,  which  attention  to  their 
ordinary  duties,  and  their  reformatory  labors  together 
secured,  contributed  to  the  same  end ;  and  for  myself, 
I  believe  that  the  constant  excitement  of  their  emotional 
nature,  which  was  inseparably  connected  with  their 
labors  as  reformers,  added  another  element  of  health 
and  longevity. 

If  I  am  right  in  my  philosophy,  here  is  an  argument 
for  engaging  in  reformatory  movements  which,  I  hope, 
may  have  weight  with  my  readers  who  desire  health  and 
long  life.* 


*  See  note  A  in  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


OUR  LEADERS  AND  CHAMPIONS. 

* 

Rev.  Dr.  Justin  Edwards — The  First  New  England  Regiments — 
Personal  Peculiarities — Rev.  John  Pierpont — The  Freedom  of  the 
Pulpit  assailed — A  Masterly  Defence — Logic — Logic  Versified — 
The  License  System — Sarcasm — Legitimate  employment  of  it — 
Awful  Exposures — Shall  we  give  it  wings?  Yes — “Lament  in 
Rhyme,  Lament  in  Prose  ” — Square  hits — Summing  Up. 

The  sad#acts  which  render  reform  necessary,  the 
specific  ends  aimed  at  by  the  reformers,  the  great  truths, 
or  principles  upon  which  they  base  their  movement,  and 
the  instrumentalities  by  which  they  propose  to  attain 
the  desired  end,  these  are  the  objects  which  most  inter¬ 
est  the  public  mind  in  connection  with  any  enterprise 
of  a  reformatory  character ;  but  next  to  these,  they  are 
interested  with  the  personnel  of  its  leaders.  Presuming 
that  my  readers  who  have  followed  me  thus  far  in  this 
narrative,  are  quite  familiar  with  the  interesting  points 
above  referred  to,  I  will  endeavor  to  gratify  a  natural 
curiosity  which  they  may  be  supposed  to  possess,  to 
know  more  of  the  men  who  stood  forth  as  the  prominent 
champions  of  the  new  movement  at  that  period  of  the 
reform,  and  on  that  part  of  our  great  field  of  operations 
now  under  consideration. 

In  respect  to  the  character  and  abilities  of  those  who 
by  common  consent  were  granted  the  first  place  among 
the  reformers  of  New  England,  from  1835  to  1845,  we 

(196) 


■  k 

■ 


JUSTIN  EDWARDS,  D.  D. 


REV.  DR.  JUoTIN  EDWARDS. 


197 


had  but  one  thing  to  desire,  that  was  organizing  talent. 
Neither  Rev.  Dr.  Edwards,  John  Pierpont,  or  L.  M. 
Sargent,  were  organizers.  Every  other  faculty  needed, 
they  possessed  in  large  measure.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  find  three  men  more  unlike  each  other  than  the  three 
named,  and  yet  they  were  in  perfect  accord  on  this 
great  question,  and  there  was  this  striking  similarity  in 
their  history,  as  connected  with  the  temperance  reform. 
Neither  of  the  trio  ever  struck  a  blow  at  the  wicked  system 
assaulted ,  or  any  guilty  supporter  of  it ,  which  was  suc¬ 
cessfully  parried.  The  first,  because  he  struck  so  care¬ 
fully,  and  apparently  with  a  heaven-directed  aim.  The 
the  two  last,  because  their  blows  were  given  with  such 
consummate  skill,  and  with  a  human  power,  which 
broke  down  by  sheer  force  the  guard  of  their  opponent, 
however  skillful  he  might  be  of  fence.  For  the  skull 
of  the  fencer,  it  was  fortunate  if  that  too  were  not  cleft 
in  the  encounter. 

Dr.  Edwards  was  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  ab¬ 
stinence.  In  1823  he  made  a  communication  to  a  cler¬ 
ical  body,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  on  the  evils  of 
using  intoxicating  liquors  at  funerals.  His  views  were 
extensively  published,  and  that  absurd  and  mischievous 
custom  began  to  decline  from  the  date  of  their  publica¬ 
tion.  In  1825  he  wrote  the  tract  entitled  the  “  Well 
Conducted  Farm,”  a  most  valuable  article,  which  had 
also  an  immense  circulation.  It  was  through  his  agency 
also  that  a  meeting  of  a  few  friends  took  place  in 
Boston  preliminary  to  the  formation  of  “  The  American 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Temperance,”  which  was 
formed  February  13th,  1826.  lie  drafted  the  Constitu¬ 
tion  of  that  society.  The  Address  which  they  sent 


198 


THE  FIRST  NEW  ENGLAND  REGIMENTS. 


forth  to  the  public  expressive  of  their  views  and  pur¬ 
poses  was  written  by  him.  As  the  corresponding  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  society  and  their  authorized  agent,  lie 
raised  in  Boston,  Salem,  Newburyport,  Andover,  and 
Northampton,  $7,400  as  a  financial  basis  of  their  oper¬ 
ations.  During  the  month  of  September,  1826,  he  set 
on  foot  a  movement  in  Andover,  Mass.,  which  resulted 
in  the  formation  there  of  a  local  temperance  society, 
consisting  of  more  than  fifty  heads  of  families  and  an 
hundred  and  fifty  young  men,  a  large  proportion  of  them 
students  of  the  theological  seminary  there  located.  To 
his  personal  efforts  more  than  to  those  of  any  other 
man,  or  score  of  men,  was  the  reform  indebted  for  the 
forms  it  took  and  the  influence  it  exerted  in  New  Eng¬ 
land,  up  to  the  year  1887.  He  was  one  of  the  wisest 
men  in  council  I  ever  knew,  and  there  was  never  any 
deduction  to  be  made  from  his  influence  or  labors  on 
account  of  rashness,  crudeness,  or  ill  temper.  In  all 
his  labor,  as  a  reformer,  I  presume  no  man  was  ever 
prejudiced  against  the  cause  or  its  advocates,  by  any 
injudicious  or  unkind  word  of  his.  Although  not  an 
orator,  in  the  popular  sense  of  the  term,  the  simplicity, 
sincerity,  gentleness,  and  eminently  Christian  spirit  of 
the  man,  won  all  hearts,  and  gave  his  words  weight  and 
power  wherever  he  addressed  the  people.  He  was  an 
active  participant  in  the  labor  of  those  two  great  Con¬ 
ventions  which  I  have  already  described,  that  of  1889 
and  that  of  1840.  With  the  entire  absence  of  all  self- 
seeking  and  vanity  in  this  great  and  good  man,  there 
was  no  want  of  confidence  in  himself  as  a  pioneer  or 
leader  in  a  great  movement.  It  was  once  said  of  Sam- 
uel  Adams,  the  old  Boston  Patriot,  that  he  wished  New 


LOGIC,  VERSIFIED. 


205 


I  have  said  that  Pierpont  was  a  fine  logician.  His 
logic  was  distinguished  from  that  article  as  employed  * 
by  most  men.  It  was  not  the  hard,  dry  logic  of  the 
metaphysician,  but  rather  an  animated,  ornamented 
article,  having  as  it  were  the  freshness  of  the  dew-damp 
lawn,  and  the  fragrance  of  flowers  about  it.  Strong  as 
iron,  but  ever  with  a  touch  of  poetry  to  set  it  off.  So, 
too,  much  of  his  verse  was  didactic,  rhymed  argument, 
philosophy,  and  logic  on  fire,  and  measured  in  dactyls 
perhaps,  or  Spencerian  stanzas.  •  Some  able  men  who  pos¬ 
sessed  both  the  logical,  and  the  poetic  faculties,  have,  like 
John  Milton,  given  us  splendid  arguments,  and  immortal 
verse,  but  rarely  on  the  same  page.  Many  articles  from 
the  pen  of  Pierpont  could  be  quoted  in  which  we  have 
both  in  a  delightful  compound. 

A  few  extracts  from  some  of  his  writings  will,  I  think, 
justify  the  statement,  that  unlike  most  writers,  he  could 
put  logic,  and  the  very  soul  of  poetry  into  the  same 
stanzas. 

From  a  poem  which  first  appeared,  if  I  rightly  recol¬ 
lect,  in  1834,  in  which  he  gave  the  license  system  such 
a  tremendous  blow,  I  make  the  following  extracts : 

“  For  so  much  gold  we  license  thee,” 

So  say  our  laws,  “  a  draught  to  sell, 

That  bows  the  strong,  enslaves  the  free, 

And  opens  wide  the  gates  of  hell ; 

For  ‘public  good’  requires  that  some 
Should  live,  since  many  die,  by  rum.” 

“  And  will  ye  give  to  man  a  bill 

Divorcing  him  from  Heaven’s  high  sway, 

And,  while  God  says,  ‘  thou  slialt  not  kill’— 

Say  ye,  ‘for  gold,  ye  may, — ye  may?* 

Compare  the  body  with  the  soul ! 

Compare  the  bullet  with  the  bowl!  ” 


206  SARCASM — LEGITIMATE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  IT. 

“  In  which  is  felt  the  fiercer  blast 
Of  the  destroying  angel’s  breath? 

Which  binds  its  victim  the  more  fast  ? 

Which  kills  him  with  the  deadlier  death  ? 

Will  ye  the  felon  fox  restrain 
And  yet  take  off  the  tiger’s  chain  ?” 

The  following  stanza  from  a  later  poem,  will,  I  think, 
further  contribute  to  justify  the  opinion  I  ha;  c  expressed 
of  the  peculiar  character  of  his  writings. 

“  The  prisoner’s  cell,  that  all 
Life’s  blessed  light  bedims, 

The  lash  that  cuts,  the  links  that  gall 
The  poor  slaves  festering  limbs, — 

What  is  this  thraldom,  to  the  chain 

That  binds  and  burns  the  drunkard’s  brain  ?” 

Beside  the  faculties  I  have  referred  to,  he  possessed 
others  which  fitted  him  in  an  eminent  degree  to  render 
to  a  great  reformatory  work  like  that  in  which  we  are 
engaged,  incalculable  service.  Every  vile  system  and 
every  debasing  vice  has  about  it  certain  points  or  phases 
which  render  it  fair  game  for  ridicule  and  expose  it  to 
the  laugh  even  of  good  men.  The  poet  Pollock,  it  may 
be  remembered,  in  his  “  Course  of  Time,”  makes  hy¬ 
pocrisy  appear  not  only  a  sin  against  God,  but  so 
supremely  ridiculous  that  the  spirits  even  of  good  men 
cannot  resist  the  inclination  to  laugh  at  it,  even  before 
the  bar  of  final  judgment. 

“  The  righteous  smiled,  and  even  Despair  itself 
Some  siixns  of  laughter  gave*.” 

O  O  © 

•  * 

No  wicked  system  that  curses  this  earth  presents  so 
many  ridiculous  aspects  as  that  with  which  we  are  con- 


“LAMENT  IN  RHYME — LAMENT  IN  PROSE.”  209 

treat  in  reading  it  to  that  sterling  friend  of  the  cause, 
Win.  S.  Damrell.  He  decided  at  once  that  he  would 
share  with  me  the  responsibility  of  publishing  it.  We 
got  that  comical  genius,  D.  C.  Johnston,  to  illustrate 
the  subject  in  a  proper  drawing,  representing  the  pond, 
the  slaughter-house,  glue  factory,  the  dead  animals,  &c., 
&c.,  in  situ ,  with  which,  from  a  plain  wood  cut,  we  em¬ 
bellished  our  sheet.  We  give  our  readers  a  specimen 
verse  or  two,  and  shall,  ere  long,  reprint  the  poem  en¬ 
tire,  illustrated,  as  our  contribution  for  1871  to  the 
popularity  of  Albany  ale.  Whether  it  has  improved  in 
quality  since  the  trial  of  Mr.  Delevan,  I  am  not  in¬ 
formed. 

I  hope  the  reader  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  water 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  famous  London  porter, 
is  taken  from  the  river  Thames,  into  which  thousands 
of  sewers  empty;  and  it  is  urged,  in  general,  that  water 
rich  in  impurities  makes  the  better  beer. 

Referring  to  the  proved  fact  that  a  certain  swine  had 
decomposed  just  in  the  edge  of  the  pond  from  which 
they  obtained  water  for  their  vats,  the  poet  makes  them 
exclaim : — 

• 

“  Thou  ponderous  porker,  who  wert  numbered  six 
Upon  the  map  in  Delevan’s  report  t 
Who  didst  sink  into  our  Albanian  styx, 

And  rise  again  before  the  Circuit  Court ; 

Like  sightless  Sampson,  there  thou  madest  sport 
For  temperance  Philistines;  but  ’tis  clear 
The  very  place  for  thee  was  in  our  wort. 

Why  should  not  we,  who  have  from  year  to  year 

Our  beer  in  hogsheads  put — put  hogsheads  in  our  beer  ?  ” 


Again,  in  the  most  touching  manner,  he  makes  the 


210  “Wl’  SAUT  TEARS  TRICKLING  DOWN  YOUR  NOSE.” 

•  • 

brewers  acknowledge  their  obligations  to  the  dogs,  which 
decomposing  in  the  pond,  had  helped  them  to  give 
“  body”  to  their  beer. 

“  Ye  murdered  dogs,  who,  when  ye  had  your  day, 

W ere  wont  by  moonlight  o’er  yon  graves  to  howl ; 

YVho  from  cash  customers  would  walk  away, 

But  at  the  ragged  ones  would  turn  and  growl ; 

Though  round  our  premises  no  more  ye  prowl, 

Against  the  loafer  to  keep  watch  and  ward, 

Still  do  ye  serve  us,  though  reformers  scowl ; 

For  since  ye  dangled  in  the  strangling  cord, 

Ye’ve  helped  make  many  a  lout  as  tipsy  as  a  lord.” 

The  services  rendered  the  brewers  by  the  slaughter 
house  is  thus  acknowledged  : 

“  Bullocks,  who  bellowed  just  before  your  blood 
Was,  for  our  benefit,  poured  out  like  water, 

Dreamed  ye,  as  erst  ye  lay  and  chewed  the  cud, 

That  from  yon  house  where  ye  were  led  to  slaughter, 

There  would  drain  down  for  many  a  blowzy  daughter 
Of  our  good  city,  who  sits  guzzling  ale, 

Such  real  stuff  ?  Our  trial  now  hath  taught  her, 

(Grew  she  not,  as  she  read  it,  very  pale  ?) 

That  from  your  horns  and  hoofs  there  hangeth  quite  a  tale.” 

•  \ 

It  would  occupy  too  many  of  our  pages  even  to  make 
a  catalogue  of  the  contributions  of  this  master  mind  to 
the  literature  of  our  enterprise.  Very  many  of  the 
strongest  arguments  against  the  use  of  intoxicants  and 
the  liquor  traffic  now  effectively  employed  by  all  advo¬ 
cates  of  the  cause,  were  first  mined  and  hammered  into 
shape  by  that  massive  brain.  He  was  a  laborious  stu¬ 
dent,  and  studied  thoroughly  every  phase  of  a  great 
question  before  he  gave  to  the  public  his  views  thereon. 


SQUARE  HITS. 


211 


His  forms  of  expression,  which  were  very  iron  for 
strength,  had  also  a  finish  which  the  most  delicate  taste 
and  the  most  consumate  skill  in  the  use  of  language 
only  could  give.  His  public  discourses,  which,  when 
studied,  were  always  able  and  aptly  illustrated,  had  one 
striking  peculiarity  which  distinguished  them  from  all 
other  temperance  discourses  to  which  it  has  been  my 
fortune  to  listen.  They  bristled  with  sharp  points  which 
could  never  be  forgotten  by  the  hearer.  Those  who 
never  listened  to  him  will  best  understand  me  from  a 
few  examples. 

Contrasting,  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  liquor  traffic 
with  other  offences  against  society,  he  said : 

“  The  highwayman,  from  his  lurking  place,  springs 
into  your  path,  and,  presenting  a  pistol  to  your  head, 
demands  your  money.  But  mark  his  language  :  4  Your 
money  or  your  life.’  Here,  now,  is  a  chance  for  you  to 
choose  ;  and  as  men  generally  prefer  to  part  with  their 
money  on  the  instant  rather  than  their  lives,  you  give 
up  your  purse,  and  the  chances  are  that  thus  you  save 
your  life.  But  what  is  the  language  of  the  liquor-seller 
as  he  passes  over  the  counter  or  bar  his  infernal  poisons  ? 
4  Your  money  and  your  life.’  ” 

Such  utterances,  accompanied  by  appropriate  gestures, 
and  that  expression  of  intense  earnestness  with  which 
he  was  wont  to  utter  his  thoughts,  fastened  his  words  in 
your  memory  as  securely  as  bearded  hooks  may  be  fast¬ 
ened  in  the  flesh.  On  one  occasion,  where  the  use  of  a 
commodious  house  of  worship  had  been  denied  to  the 
friends  of  temperance  for  the  reason  that,  if  used  by 
them,  the  carpets,  which  were  new,  would  be  soiled,  Mr. 
Pierpont,  in  his  speech  on  the  occasion,  said :  44  Per- 


212 


SUMMING  UP. 


haps  it  may  be  best,  though  I  beg  leave  to  doubt  it,  to 
keep  the  carpets  clean  and  let  the  souls  go  dirty .” 

No  man  better  understood  the  importance  of  empha¬ 
sizing  just  the  right  word. 

On  one  occasion  the  writer  had  commented,  in  his 
hearing,  on  the  prohibition  of  wine  to  the  priesthood  of 
that  age — Aaron  and  his  sons — and  recited  the  passage 
which  indicates  the  penalty  of  disobedience  —  “  Lest  ye 
die.” 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  Mr.  Pierpont  grasped  my 
hand,  and  with  an  expression  of  earnestness  which 
burned  his  words  into  my  memory,  said,  “  Doctor,  bear 
hard  on  that  Ye.  Strong  emphasis  on  that  one  word, 
only  can  bring  out  the  full  force  of  that  passage.” 

Let  the  reader  study  carefully  and  critically  the  tenth 
chapter  of  Leviticus,  and  he  will  rightly  estimate  the 
value  of  that  suggestion. 

I  cannot  close  this  imperfect  sketch  of  this  great  man 
and  earnest  reformer,  without  expressing  the  hope  that 
some  one  competent  to  the  task,  will  collect  the  most 
important,  if  not  all  his  writings  and  reported  speeches 
in  reference  to  the  temperance  question,  and  give  them 
to  the  public  in  a  fitting  form,  with  such  explanations  of 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  written  or 
uttered,  as  will  greatly  enhance  their  interest,  not  only 
to  earnest  friends  of  temperance,  but  to  the  general 
reader. 

That  our  departed  friend  held  opinions  on  religious 
and  other  subjects  which  many  good  men  regarded  as 
unsound,  is  undoubtedly  true.  His  opinions  in  relation 
to  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicants  were  by  many  thought 
false  and  quite  revolutionary,  but  that  fact  did  not  prove 


SUMMING  UP. 


213 


them  false.  He  was  an  independent  thinker,  and  was 
governed  by  his  own  convictions,  and  not  those  of  other 
people.  Those  personally  acquainted  with  him  could 
not  doubt  that  his  expressed  opinions,  on  every  subject, 
were  honestly  entertained  and  conscientiously  advocated. 

If,  for  any  cause,  that  glorious  spirit  is  denied,  in  the 
world  to  which  it  has  gone,  the  companionship  of  the 
good  and  the  pure,  of  those  who  love  righteousness  and 
hate  iniquity,  injustice,  and  wrong,  in  every  form  and 
shape  and  degree,  it  must  be  to  him  indeed  an  infinite 
misfortune,  for  he  ever  sought  such  companionship  on 
earth,  and  was  never  happy  in  any  other.  Beside,  such 
a  catastrophe  would  involve  him  in  eternal  war,  for  if 
doomed  to  the  society  of  the  vile,  the  profoundly  selfish, 
extortioners,  unjust,  unmerciful,  impure,  and  brutal,  he 
will  make  trouble  among  them,  unless  his  spirit  has 
greatly  changed  since  it  left  the  earth,  for  such  had 
never  any  peace  or  quiet  here ,  in  his  neighborhood. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


"THERE  WERE  GIANTS  IN  THOSE  DAYS.’* 

L.  M.  Sargent — Personal  peculiarities — The  Temperance  Tales — A 
Damascus  blade  well  employed —  Deacon  Giles’  Distillery  ” — 
Providential  and  grand  results — Father  Taylor — Word  painting 
— Eloquence. 

Another  of  our  champions,  whose  influence  was  even 
more  extended  than  that  of  John  Pierpont,  was  Lucius 

M.  Sargent,  Esq.,  author  of  the  “  Temperance  Tales.’’ 
The  history  of  the  reform  in  New  England,  could 
scarcely  be  rendered  intelligible  to  an  individual  in  a 
distant  section  of  the  country,  without  some  knowl¬ 
edge  of  our  three  great  champions.  Subtract  from  the 
history  of  the  enterprise  from  the  year  1833  to  1843, 
all  notice  of  the  labors  of  either  of  those  men,  and  you 
would  leave  a  sad  blank.  In  the  retrospect  I  see  not 
how  either  could  have  been  spared. 

Mr.  Sargent  inherited  wealth,  received  a  collegiate 
education,  and  studied  for  the  legal  profession,  which, 
however,  he  never  practised,  partly  because  he  did  not 
need  the  avails  of  it,  and  partly  because  his  literary 
tastes  drew"  his  thoughts  and  diverted  his  labors  into 
other  channels. 

Before  visiting  Boston,  in  1838,  I  had  read  a  number 
of  the  “  Temperance  Tales,”  had  dropped  tears  on  the 

(214} 


L  M.  SARGENT. 


I 


DEACON  GILES’  DISTILLERY. 


221 


of  rum-wrath,  and  the  demand  was  urgent  on  the  con¬ 
ductors  of  public  journals  that  they  would  give  “  Deacon 
Giles’  Distillery”  a  place  in  their  columns.  Thus  it  got 
a  very  general  publication,  and  the  important  truths  em¬ 
bodied  in  that  splendid  production  found  their  way  to 
the  minds  of  thousands  who  would  never  have  seen  the 
article  but  for  the  trial  and  imprisonment  of  its  author. 
Thus  it  was  in  the  days  of  Paul.  The  enemies  of  the 
new  religion  thought  to  hinder  its  progress  by  silencing, 
if  possible,  its  most  learned  and  eloquent  advoqate,  and 
so  violently  did  they  pursue  him  that  his  life  was  in  dan¬ 
ger.  Feeling  assured  that  he  could  not  have  a  fair  trial 
among  those  who  had  crucified  the  faultless  Master,  he 
appealed  unto  Caesar,  and  his  exasperated  enemies  were 
compelled  to  send  him  to  Rome.  The  authorities  there, 
feeling  little  interest  in  mere  questions  of  Jewish  law, 
and  profoundly  impressed  with  the  npble  bearing  and 
eloquence  of  that  Christian  hero,  set  him  at  liberty,  and 
the  first  use  he  made  of  it  was  tp  preach  Christ  the 
Saviour  of  men  to  those  around  him,  including  the  high¬ 
est  officers  of  the  government.  /Hence  the  remark  of  a 
pious  old  divine,  that  the  Devil  and  his  special  friends 
had,  through  the  overruling  Providence  of  God,  been 
made  the  instruments  of  sending  the  first  missionary  to 
the  heathen,  and  that  too,  at  a  time  when  the  infant 
church  was  too  weak  in  numbers  and  in  wealth  to  have 
done  so. 

My  readers  who  may  be  curious  to  see  the  atjmirable 
article  which  made  so  much  stir  in  1835,  will  find  it  at 
the  Rooms  of  the  National  Temperance  Society  and 
Publication  House,  in  New  York. 

Another  gentleman  of  the  clerical  profession  who  ex- 


222 


FATHER  TAYLOR. 


erted  considerable  influence  in  favor  of  the  cause  during 
the  second  decade  in  its  history,  reckoning  from  its  ori¬ 
gin  in  1826,  was  the  Rev.  E.  T.  Taylor,  of  Boston,  the 
very  celebrated  seaman’s  preacher.  During  the  period 
named,  his  voice  was  heard  in  nearly  all  the  cities  and 
larger  towns  of  New  England,  in  favor  of  the  reform. 
A  regard  for  strict  truth,  however,  compels  me  to  add, 
that  his  views  of  the  subject  were  greatly  modified  by 
surrounding  circumstances,  and  that  the  general  knowl¬ 
edge  of  that  fact  seriously  impaired  his  influence.  He 
was  a  man  of  impulse,  and  the  state  of  the  weather — 
of  his  health — the  character  and  conduct  of  his  audience 
or  any  circumstance  that  impressed  him  strongly  at  the 
time,  determined  the  character  of  his  utterances  to  a  sur¬ 
prising  extent.  I  have  heard  at  times  bursts  of  eloquence 
from  him  that  produced  with  me,  and  I  presume  with 
all  present,  an  absolute  forgetfulness,  for  the  moment, 
of  all  else  on  this  planet  or  elsewhere,  except  the  matter 
he  was  just  then  presenting ;  and  I  have  heard  him  at 
other  times,  when  I  have  been  perfectly  amazed  at  the 
utter  inconsistency  of  the  views  expressed,  not  only  with 
any  standard  of  doctrine  recognized  as  sound  by  other 
men,  but  with  his  own  public  utterances  of,  perhaps,  the 
week  previous.  His  imagination  once  fairly  excited 
could  furnish  in  thirty  minutes  material  for  half  a  dozen 
speeches  of  an  hour’s  length  each ;  and  unfortunately, 
it  frequently  happened  that  different  parts  of  the  same 
speecli#could  be  used  on  opposite  sides  of  the  same  ques¬ 
tion.  He  was,  however,  a  man  of  honest  purposes  and 
strong  and  warm  affections,  as  well  as  of  varying  moods. 
He  drew  large  audiences,  whatever  subject  he  proposed 
to  discuss,  for  all  men  loved  to  hear  “  Father  Taylor.” 


Rev.  EDWARD  T.  TAYLOR. 


/ 


< 


WORD  PAINTING.  ZZ6 

If  he  happened  to  be  right,  you  rejoiced  in  the  good 
he  was  doing ;  if  wrong,  you  were  still  charmed  by  the 
originality  of  his  style,  and  the  vivid  word  pictures  of 
men  and  things,  which  in  one  of  his  best  efforts  followed 
each  other  in  as  rapid  succession  as  do  the  varying 
scenes  thrown  on  the  canvass  by  a  magic  lantern  when 
manipulated  by  skillful  hands. 

I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection  of  his  speech  at  a 
temperance  soiree,  gotten  up  by  the  ladies  of  Charlestown, 
Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1843,  if  I  rightly  remember. 
All  matters  connected  with  it  had  been  happily  arranged, 
and  “  Father  Taylor”  was  in  one  of  his  best  moods. 
After  presenting  to  the  assembled  throng  some  startling 
views  of  the  terrible  system  on  which  the  ladies  were 
then  waging  a  pretty  vigorous  war,  he  closed  by  one 
of  those  bursts  of  eloquence  which  it  would  seem  impos¬ 
sible  to  forget  Scores,  perhaps  hundreds  now  living  in 
sight  of  the  granite  shaft  will  remember  the  occasion, 
and  if  they  shall  peruse  these  pages  will  bear  witness  to 
the  accuracy  of  the  report  I  am  about  to  make  of  his. 
words  after  the  lapse  of  almost  thirty  years. 

“  And  here  it  is  yet,  the  accursed  system  to  plague 
and  torture  us,  although  we  have  exposed  its  villainies 
until  it  would  seem  that  Satan  himself  ought  to  be 
ashamed  to  have  any  connection  with  it — I  am  not  sure 
but  he  is — but  some  of  his  servants  have  more  brass 
and  less  shame  than  their  master.  Yes  !  here  it  is  yet, 
and  over  there,  too,  in  the  great  city — the  Athens  of 
America,  where  the  church  spires  as  they  point  upward, 
*  are  almost  as  thick  as  the  masts  of  the  shipping  along 
the  wharves — all  the  machinery  ol  the  drunkard-making, 
soul  destroying  business  is  in  perfect  running  order  from 


224 


ELOQUENCE. 


the  low  grog  holes  on  the  clock — kept  open  to  ruin  my 
poor  sailor  boys — to  the  great  black  establishments  in 
Still  House  square,  which  are  pouring  out  the  elements 
of  death,  even  on  God’s  Holy  Hay,  and  sending  up  a 
smoke  as  from  the  pit  forever  and  ever ! 

“And  your  wives  and  daughters,  even  as  they  walk  to 
their  churches  on  Sunday,  brush  the  very  skirts  of  their 
silk  dresses  against  the  mouths  of  open  grog  shops  that 
gape  by  the  way.  And  your  poor-houses  are  full,  and 
your  courts  and  prisons  are  filled  with  the  victims  of 
this  infernal  rum  traffic,  and  your  homes  are  full  of  sor¬ 
row,  and  the  hearts  of  your  wives  and  mothers ;  and 
yet,  the  system  is  tolerated.  Yes  !  and  when  we  ask 
some  men  what  is  to  be  done  about  it,  they  tell  you,  you 
can’t  stop  it !  No,  you  can’t  stop  it !  and  yet,  (darting 
across  the  platform  and  pointing  in  the  direction  of  the 
monument,  he  exclaimed  in  a  voice  that  pierced  one’s 
ears  like  the  blare  of  a  trumpet,)  there’s  Bunker  Hill ! 
and  you  say  }Tou  can’t  stop  it — and  up  yonder  is  Lexing¬ 
ton,  and  Concord,  where  your  fathers  fought  for  the 
right,  and  bled,  and  died — and  you  look  on  those  monu¬ 
ments  and  boast  of  the  heroism  of  your  fathers,  and 
then  tell  us  we  must  submit  to  be  taxed  and  tortured  by 
this  rum  business,  and  we  can’t  stop  it !  No !  and  yet, 
(drawing  himself  up  to  his  full  height  and  expanding 
his  naturally  broad  chest  as  though  the  words  he  would 
utter  had  blocked  up  the  usual  avenues  of  speech  and 
were  about  to  force  their  way  out  by  an  explosion,  he 
exclaimed  in  a  sort  of  whispered  scream,)  Your  Fathers 
—your  patriotic  Fathers — could  make  a  cup  of  tea  for 
his  Britannic  Majesty  out  of  a  whole  cargo — and  you 
can’t  cork  up  a  gin-jug  !  Ha !  ” 


TRUE  WEALTH  AGAINST  MONEY. 


but  simple,  plain  food  is  generally  better  suited  to  the 
wants  of  the  aged,  and  with  men  who  have  lived  as  they 
ought,  is  better  relished  than  costly  viands  and  high- 
seasoned  dishes.  Wealth  could  procure  me  a  splendid 
turn-out,  like  that  of  Bonner,  or  some  other  millionaire, 
but  a  particularly  low- wheeled  carriage,  with  a  very 
gentle  horse  of  moderate  gate,  would  give  an  old  man  a 
more  comfortable  airing  on  a  fine  morning,  than  a  dash¬ 
ing  team  of  horses  of  two-forty  pace,  and  the  most 
costly  carriage  in  the  world.  Had  I  desisted  from  re¬ 
formatory  efforts,  and  been  guided  by  those  senseless 
maxims,  “  Take  the  world  as  you  find  it” — i.  e.,  don’t 
trouble  yourself  about  making  it  any  better,  but  make  it 
subserve  your  selfish  purposes — and,  “  Look  out  for 
number  one,”  or  in  plain  phrase,  bestow  no  time  or 
thought  on  the  welfare  or  happiness  of  others,  &c.,  <fcc., 
I  might  have  been  rich ;  but  that  wealth  might  have 
spoiled  my  six  boys,  who,  while  their  father  was  at  work 
to  promote  temperance,  grew  up  to  industrious  and  fru¬ 
gal  habits,  and  all  together  never  cost  me  an  hour’s  sor¬ 
row.  Had  I  acquired  wealth,  I  might  have  sent  my  two 
daughters  to  fashionable  boarding-schools,  to  learn  a 
little  French  and  German,  a  little  rhetoric  and  music, 
and  a  good  deal  that  young  ladies  do  not  learn  so  often 
at  home,  ignorance  of  which  is  not  only  “  bliss,”  but 
something  better — purity.  I  have  never  spent  a  summer 
at  Saratoga — could  not  afford  it.  I  have  been  there  on 
two  or  three  occasions,  to  attend  temperance  conven¬ 
tions,  and  got  away  in  the  first  train  after  their  close. 
Was  impressed  while  there  with  the  notion  that  nine 
are  injured  in  health  and  morals  by  the  fashionable  dissi¬ 
pation  of  Saratoga,  where  one  is  benefited  in  health  by 


228 


REGRETS  AND  TRIALS. 


liis  sojourn  there.  To  sum  up  in  a  word,  liad  I  sacrificed 
my  “  hobby,”  as  my  friends  termed  it,  and  devoted  my¬ 
self  to  my  profession,  and  acquired  wealth,  that  wealth 
could  have  added  nothing  to  my  personal  happiness,  or 
that  of  my  family,  and  would  now  be  a  miserable  pos¬ 
session,  as  compared  with  the  memories  of  a  life  devoted 
to  the  reformation,  education,  and  elevation  of  my  fellow- 
men.  My  only  regrets  are  that  I  have  not  done  more, 
and  done  all,  better,  and  that  I  have  very  often  been  un¬ 
able  to  get  my  notions  adopted  by  my  fellow-laborers,  who, 
though  perhaps  just  as  earnest  friends  of  temperance  as 
I  am  or  ever  was,  and  very  likely  better  men  otherwise, 
had  never  given  a  tenth-part  of  the  time  to  the  study 
of  the  subject  that  I  have  done.  Hence,  I  have  been 

grieved  to  witness  disaster  and  defeat  at  times,  when  I 

* 

know  that  I  could  have  engineered,  and  led  our  forces 
to  assured  success  and  victory. 

The  sorest  trials  I  have  ever  experienced  in  life,  ex¬ 
cept  the  death  of  very  near  and  dear  friends,  has  been 
in  witnessing  a  slow  progress  of  a  blessed  enterprise 
which  might  by  the  use  of  proper  means,  entirely  within 
our  reach,  have  been  sent  forward  with  railroad  speed  ; 
to  witness  partial  defeats  where  we  might  have  rejoiced 
over  glorious  victories,  and  to  see  the  continued  exist¬ 
ence  of  a  destructive  system  which  could  have  been 
crushed  in  any  one  of  our  states  where  common  schools 
have  done  their  work,  within  the  space  of  ten  years,  by 
the  hearty,  continuous,  and  well-directed  efforts  of  those 
who  have  been,  during  that  period,  total  abstainers  from 
all  intoxicants.  The  tax  on  their  time  should  not  have 
been  greater  than  one  evening  per  week,  and  two  or 
three  days  a  year  for  general  meetings  or  conventions 


A  LEADER  WANTED. 


229 


for  consultation  and  discussion  ;  not,  however,  for  enter¬ 
tainment  or  steamboat  excursions.  The  tax  on  their 
purses  should  not  have  exceeded  twenty-five  cents  per 
month.  If  it  were  proper  I  would  risk  my  head  on  the 
destruction  of  the  liquor  system  within  the  period  named, 
by  a  certain  plan  of  operations,  simple,  peaceable,  and 
not  more  expensive  in  time  or  money  than  what  I  have 
stated.  My  brethren  will  not  adopt  it,  however,  either 
because  they  have  some  plan  of  their  own  to  which  they 
may  have  devoted  forty  hours  in  all,  it  may  be,  instead 
of  forty  years  ;  or  because  they  will  not  sit  down  coolly, 
and  in  the  light  of  history,  of  passing  events,  and  right 
reason,  consider  the  subject.  They  have  not  time,  or 
think  they  have  not,  but  must  go  ahead,  on  some  ill-con¬ 
sidered  plan,  until  mortified,  disheartened  by  successive 
failures,  they  are  often  discouraged,  and  quit  the  field. 

We  have  no  recognized  Yon  Moltke  in  our  enterprise, 
though  wherever  we  have  had  any  decided  victories,  it 
was  because  we  had,  on  that  particular  field,  a  recognized 
leader.  He  may  have  been  a  modest  man,  who  made 
no  claims  to  leadership,  but,  nevertheless,  he  led. 

Methodism  lives  through  all  mutations,  and  goes  on 
conquering  still.  Why  ?  Its  communion  is  not  a  more 
intelligent  or  more  holy  body  of  Christians  than  some 
others.  It  works  on  a  plan  perfected  in  the  mind  of  one 
man — John  Wesley.  The  Suspension  Bridge  which 
spans  that  awful  chasm  at  Niagara,  over  which  heavy 
railroad  trains  pass  and  re-pass  with  safety,  was  not 
planned  by  a  committee,  but  is  the  product  of  one  mind. 
All  successful  campaigns  in  war,  from  Julius  Cassar  to 
Moltke,  and  all  great  and  successful  undertakings  in  all 
human  affairs  are  due,  first  of  all,  under  the  Providence 


230 


A  LEADER  WANTED. 


of  God,  to  a  one  man  power.  Disaster,  of  course,  comes 
if  the  wrong  man  is  trusted  with  leadership ;  but  when 
the  right  one  comes,  things  move  on  to  a  grand  issue, 
if  the  proper  tools  are  but  furnished.  When  Boston 
capitalists  would,  for  manufacturing  purposes,  throw  a 
great  dam  across  the  Connecticut  river,  at  Hadley 
Falls,  they  employed  an  able  engineer.  He  perfected 
his  plan  for  the  work  and  submitted  it  to  them.  They 
thought  they  could  improve  it  in  certain  particulars. 
His  reply  was,  “  Gentlemen,  I,  as  your  servant,  will 
carry  out  any  suggestion  you  may  make,  and  agree 
upon ;  but  if  you  thus  modify  my  plan,  you  must  not 
hold  me  at  all  responsible  if  the  work  does  not  stand.” 
Wealth  had  ministered  to  their  vanity  and  self-confi¬ 
dence,  and  they  did  modify  it.  The  work  was  finished. 
It  was  an  imposing  and  splendid  structure  ;  but  the  old 
Connecticut,  vexed  at  this  obstruction,  got  up,  not  her 
blood,  but  her  waters,  and  swept  it  away,  and  with  it  the 
self-confidence  of  the  committee.  They  then  told  the 
engineer  to  build  a  dam  on  his  own  plan.  He  did  so ; 
and  although  that  skillful  architect  has  since  been  con¬ 
quered  by  the  great  enemy,  strong  drink,  and  went  down 
to  an  early  grave,  much  lamented,  yet  that  splendid 
work  of  his  still  stands,  a  monument  of  his  skill.  He 
proved  himself  more  than  a  match  for  Connecticut  river, 
but  strong  drink  was  more  than  a  match  for  him,  as  it 
lias  been  for  thousands  of  others  as  able  and  as  useful 
men.  No  committee  ever  planned  a  successful  campaign 
or  led  a  host  to  victory. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Joseph  Breck — A  glass  of  Gin — Compare  them,  Sir — Frightened — 
A  laugh  all  round — A  cup  of  tea — A  home  question — What  do 
you  say? — A  new  patron — Our  best  hold — Gough,  Gough! — 
Discussion,  its  value — The  tipsy  Son — Afflicted — The  old  story — 
Converted  at  a  blow — Temperance  Conventions,  how  effected — 
Ruminating — Only  to  travelers — Travelers  on  short  routes — Pret¬ 
ty  much  burned  out — The  poor  old  Doctor— Expelled — Why  is  it  ? 
The  Major — “  Take  him  off” — Threatened — Satisfaction — Recov¬ 
ered — Trying  it  again — “  Ten  cents” — The  whole  cost. 

Joseph  Breck,  the  author  of  a  work  on  flowers,  had 
an  agricultural  and  horticultural  warehouse  and  seed 
store  but  a  few  rods  from  old  Faneuil  Hall.  He  was 
a  fine  specimen  of  a  Christian  gentleman,  with  a 
hand  for  every  good  work,  and  so  genial  and  pleasant, 
withal,  that  he  won  the  hearts  of  all  acquaintances. 
Even  bad  men,  whose  vices  he  reproved,  loved  him; 
they  could  not  help  it.  He  was,  of  course,  a  staunch 
friend  of  temperance  ;  and  when  weary  with  labor  and 
a  little  below  par  on  the  score  of  energy  and  resolution, 
I  used  to  run  in  and  see  friend  Breck.  A  free  and  easy 
chat  for  half  an  hour  with  an  intelligent,  genial,  and 
good  man  like  him,  is  a  better  stimulant  for  both  body 
and  mind,  than  any  bought  at  the  wine  stores.  So  when 
I  was  below-  par,  I  took  a  dose  of  Breck,  varying  the 
prescription,  sometimes,  to  a  dose  of  Whittemore,  at  the 
“Trumpet”  office. 

(231) 


232 


A  GLASS  OF  GIN. 


One  day  I  dropped  in  at  friend  Brock’s,  and  observed 
a  fine  old  gentleman,  gray  and  venerable,  sitting  with 
him,  and  at  the  desk,  in  an  undertone,  I  inquired  of 
Mr.  B.  who  it  was.  He  replied  that  it  was  Mr.  Samuel 
Stewart,*  formerly  a  merchant  of  Boston,  who  had  ac¬ 
quired  a  fortune,  and  was  then  residing  at  Dorchester. 
“  He  is  a  fine  old  gentleman,”  said  Breck ;  “  a  great 
lover  and  patron  of  Horticulture,  but  I  cannot  convert 
him  to  our  notions  in  reference  to  temperance.  He  will 
insist  on  his  glass  of  gin  occasionally.  I  wish  you  could 
have  a  little  talk  with  him  on  the  subject.”  “  I  will,” 
said  I,  “  if  you  can  bring  up  the  subject  for  conversa¬ 
tion.”  But  how  w~as  the  thing  to  be  done  ?  Easy 
enough,  as  you  will  see. 

“  Come  here,  pup,  come  here,”  said  the  old  gentleman 
to  Breck’s  dog,  slapping  his  knee  gently  the  while,  to 
show  Pompey  bow  delicately  he  would  caress  him  if  he 
would  approach  in  a  friendty  way.  But  Pomp  kept  at  a 
respectful  distance.  “  He  is  afraid  of  you,  friend  Stew¬ 
art,”  said  Breck,  “  and  I  think  I  can  tell  you  the  reason 
why.  Dogs  have  a  keen  scent,  and  he  has  discovered 
that  you  use  gin,  and,  being  a  regular  teetotaler  himself, 
he  dare  not  come  near  you.” 

“  Ha,  ha,  ha  !  ”  roared  the  grand  old  man,  who  seemed 
heartily  to  enjoy  the  joke.  “  Do  you  think  that  is  it, 
Breck  ?  ” 

“  Certainly,  certainly  !  ”  wTas  the  reply. 

Here  I  interposed,  and  reproved  friend  Breck  for  in¬ 
sulting  a  venerable  gentleman  by  insinuating  that  he 
drank  gin. 

*  That  is  not  the  real  name  of  the  gentleman  referred  to,  which 
is  suppressed  for  obvious  reasons. 


“  COMPARE  THEM,  SIR  !  ” 


233 


“Well,  I  do,”  said  he,  “  think  of  it  as  you  will.” 

The  subject  was  now  fairly  up  for  discussion.  My 
venerable  opponent  brought  out  in  succession  the  com¬ 
mon  arguments  for  the  use  of  stimulants,  especially  for 
old  people.  I  replied  to  them  as  presented,  treating 
him,  meanwhile,  with  the  utmost  respect,  and  avoiding 
as  far  as  possible  every  needless  cause  of  irritation.  At 
length  the  old  gentleman  discovered  that  he  had  a  hard 
road  to  travel,  and,  losing  his  temper,  began  to  assail 
the  whole  host  of  pledged  men  as  a  set  of  hypocrites, 
wdio,  with  all  their  professions,  drank  behind  the  door. 

“  Hold  on,  sir,”  said  I.  “  You  are  an  old  man,  and 
I  comparatively  a  young  one,  aud  in  this  discussion.  I 
have  endeavored  to  treat  you  with  that  respect  which  I 
consider  ever  due  to  age,  and  however  sharp  you  may  be 
on  me,  personally,  I  shall  not  reply  in  kind.  But  I  can¬ 
not  allow  you  to  charge  all  our  pledged  host  with  hypoc¬ 
risy,  for  we  have  many  men  in  our  ranks  as  aged  and 
quite  as  respectable  every  way  as  yourself.  I  shall  de¬ 
fend  such  from  your  charges,  even  at  the  expense  of 
your  feelings.” 

“  Well,  do  as  you  like,”  said  he,  for  his  blood  was  up. 
“  I  have  given  you  my  opinion.  You  are  all  a  set  of 
hypocrites.  You  drink  behind  the  door,”  Ac.,  Ac. 

I,  in  turn,  began  to  be  quite  in  earnest,  and  replied  : 
“  Sir,  I  thank  God  I  have  no  cause  to  be  ashamed  of 
my  associates  in  the  temperance  cause,  and  I  am  quite 
willing  to  compare  our  several  parties,  as  you  seem  to 
court  such  a  comparison.  Look  on  the  two  and  com¬ 
pare  them,  sir.  You  will- see  on  our  side  the  great  mass 
of  the  active  Christian  men  and  women  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  all  men  engaged  in  good  and  benevolent  enter- 


234 


FRIGHTENED. 


prises  of  whatever  kind,  our  clergy,  our  educators,  from 
the  college  down  to  our  district  and  our  Sabbath  schools, 
they  are  mainly  with  us.  Now,  what  have  you  on  the 
other  side  ?  True,  you  have  some  respectable  men,  like 
yourself,  but  go  down  into  the  liquor  saloons,  and  into 
the  gambling  hells  and  houses  of  prostitution,  where  are 
the  representatives  of  every  rascally  business  in  the  city, 
and  they  are  all  with  your  party,  sir.  Blear  eyed  and 
bloated,  ragged  and  reeling,  hundreds  of  them  hurrying 
along  to  their  graves,  they  are  all  with  you.  Why,  sir, 
Falstaff’s  ragged  regiment,  which  he  swore  he  would 
not  march  through  Coventry  with,  were  a  set  of  well- 
dressed  gentlemen  compared  with  a  portion  of  your  rank 
and  file.” 

He  looked  at  me  for  a  moment  in  silence,  and  then 
burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter  at  the  way  I  had  rattled 
off  the  facts  to  him,  when  he  exclaimed :  .  “  Well,  wrell ! 
I  don’t  know  who  you  are  !  You  are  an  odd  one.  You 
talk  too  fast  for  me.  Yes,  yes — too  fast  for  me  !” 

“  You  say  you  don’t  know  this  man,”  said  Breck. 
“  Why,  you  ought  to  know  him.  He  is  pretty  generally 
known  throughout  the  state,  and  I’ll  warrant  you  have 
heard  of  him  often  enough.  This,  sir,  is  Doctor  Charles 
Jewett,  the  temperance  agent.” 

“  The  devil  it  is !  ”  said  the  old  gentleman,  with  a 
look  of  astonishment  and  alarm  ;  and  with  that  he  made 
for  the  door,  and  hurried  into  the  street,  as  though  es¬ 
caping  from  a  tiger.  My  friend  Breck  leaned  forward 
on  his  desk  and  roared  in  a  perfect  paroxysm  of  laugh¬ 
ter,  and  one  of  his  clerks,  unable  to  stand,  and  seeing 
nothing  else  near  to  sustain  him,  stretched  out  on  a  big 
plough  until  the  convulsion  had  subsided.  The  old  gen- 


A  LAUGH  ALL  ROUND. 


235 


tleman’s  notions  of  Dr.  Jewett  liad  been  derived  from 
prejudiced  parties,  and  he  had,  doubtless,  pictured  him 
a  perfect  monster,  a  reckless,  savage  fellow,  ready  al¬ 
most  to  devour  an  opponent ;  and  now  to  learn,  thus 
suddenly,  that  he  had  been  for  a  full  half-hour  within 
reach  of  that  terrible  animal — it  was  overwhelming,  and 
he  got  out  of  that  jungle  as  soon  as  possible. 

When  next  the  good  old  man  visited  Breck,  he  was, 
of  course,  rallied  on  his  causeless  fright.  He  was  as¬ 
sured  by  my  friend  that  I  was,  on  the  whole,  rather  a 
clever  fellow,  and  that  on  further  acquaintance  he  would 
find  me  so.  For  weeks  and  months,  as  often  as  he  vis¬ 
ited  the  store,  (which  he  seldom  failed  to  do  when  he 
came  to  the  city,)  some  allusion  would  be  made  to  his 
encounter  with  that  terrible  temperance  fanatic,  and  a 
good  hearty  laugh  all  round  would  contribute  to  the 
present  cheer,  as  well  as  the  health  of  the  parties. 

Some  months  after  this  occurrence,  I  had  occasion  to 
visit  Dorchester.  There  were  in  that  town,  as  there 
were  in  most  of  the  fine  suburban  towns  about  Boston, 
certain  wealthy  gentlemen  who  annually  contributed  to 
the  funds  of  the  u  Temperance  Union.”  I  went  out  to 
call  on  our  patrons  for  their  annual  subscription.  Among 
other  names  I  found  that  of  Samuel  Stewart,  and  in¬ 
quired  of  a  man  whom  I  met  where  that  gentleman  re¬ 
sided.  “  There  are  two  persons  of  that  name  in  town,” 
said  he  ;  “  father  and  son.”  Here  was  a  source  of  em¬ 
barrassment.  The  gentleman  suggested  that  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  my  business  with  Mr.  Stewart,  if  I  felt  free  to 
state  it,  might  indicate  which  of  the  men  I  was  in  pur¬ 
suit  of.  I  informed  him.  u  Ah,”  said  he,  “  it  is  the 
young  man.  You  would  never  get  a  subscription  for  the 


286 


A  CUP  OP  TEA. 


temperance  cause  from  tlie  old  gentleman,  for,  though 
a  very  temperate  and  excellent  man,  he  will  have  his 
glass  of  gin,  and  has  strong  prejudices  against  your 
movements.”  I  called  at  the  residence  of  S.  Stewart, 
Jr.  He  had  not  returned  from  Boston,  would  be  at 
home  in  about  an  hour.  What  was  I  to  do  in  the  mean¬ 
time  ?  I  thought  it  possible  that  there  might  be  some 
mistake  about  it,  and  it  might  be  the  older  Stewart  after 
all.  At  any  rate,  even  should  my  information  be  cor¬ 
rect,  it  would  do  no  harm  to  have  a  little  chat  with  a 
fine  old  gentleman,  if  he  did  drink  gin.  So  I  resolved 
to  call  upon  him. 

All  this  while  I  had  not  associated  the  name  with  the 
affair  in  Breck’s  store.  I  rang  the  door-bell  of  the  old 
man’s  stately  mansion,  and  he  himself  answered  the 
call.  The  instant  I  saw  his  face  I  recognized  him.  “  Is 
this  Mr.  Samuel  Stewart?”  I  inquired.  He  answered 
in  the  affirmative.  “  This  is  Dr.  Jewett,  sir,  agent  of 
the  6  Temperance  Union.’”  “Ah — yes — well — yes — I 
recollect  you,  doctor.  I  met  you  at  my  friend  Breck’s, 
in  Boston.  Walk  in,  sir,  walk  in,  I  am  happy  to  see 
you.”  I  stated  the  nature  of  my  business.  “  Well, 
come,  sir,  I  am  about  to  sit  down  to  my  tea,”  said  he  ; 
“  I  am  quite  alone,  I  like  company.  Throw  off  your 
coat,  sir,  and  take  a  cup  of  tea  with  me.” 

Compliance  with  such  an  invitation  at  the  hour  of  five 
or  six,  P.  M.,‘is  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  for 
me  when  circumstances  will  permit.  So  down  we  sat 
at  the  table.  Reader,  you  will  err  greatly  if  you  imag¬ 
ine  me  green  enough  to  enter  just  then  at  once  on  the 
subject  of  temperance.  I  have  studied  men  too  much 
for  that.  So,  by  a  reference  to  his  fine  fruit  yards,  I 


A  HOME  QUESTION. 


237 


drew  the  conversation  to  the  subject  of  fruit  culture. 
He  had  paid  much  attention  to  it  practically.  So  had 
I,  and  I  had  studied  the  science  of  the  subject,  as  wTell, 
and  we  had  a  talk  which  I  found  was  not  altogether  un¬ 
interesting  or  uninstructive  to  him. 

But  the  time  is  passing,  and  we  must  draw  the  con¬ 
versation  somehow  to  the  temperance  enterprise,  and 
how  ?  That  was  the  question  for  the  moment.  I  soon 
fixed  on  a  plan,  which  will  develope  itself  in  the  subse¬ 
quent  dialogue. 

“  They  tell  me,  sir,  that  your  town  is  growing  very 
rapidly,  that  it  has  nearly  doubled  its  population  within 
the  last  eight  years.”  He  confirmed  the  truth  of  the 
statement.  “  In  connection  with  that  fact  I  have  heard 
a  statement  which,  if  it  be  a  fact,  also  seems  very  re¬ 
markable.” 

“  What  is  that  ?”  he  inquired. 

“  That  while  you  have  nearly  doubled  your  population, 
there  has  been  an  actual  falling  off  in  the  amount  of 
your  pauperism,  that  you  have  fewer  paupers  now  than 
when  your  population  was  about  half  its  present  num¬ 
ber.” 

“  Well,”  said  he,  “  as  to  that,  I  had  learned  that  our 
pauperism  had  been  reduced,  but  I  did  not  know  exactly 
to  what  extent.” 

I  told  him  of  whom  I  had  my  information. 

“  Oh,  well,  then  it  is  so,”  said  he.  “  He  is  a  reliable 
man,  and  knows  all  about  that  matter.” 

“  Well,  now,  Mr.  Stewart,  that  is  a  remarkable  fact. 
What  influence  lias  been  operating  among  your  people  to 
produce  such  a  very  desirable  result  ?” 

There  was  but  one  truthful  answer  to  be  made  to  that 


238 


WHAT  DO  YOU  SAY? 


question.  I  well  knew  that,  and  it  remained  to  be  seen 
if  he  knew  it.  If  he  did  know  it,  and  would  admit  it, 
that  admission  would  involve  a  pretty  severe  reflection 
on  his  own  past  indifference  to  the  claims  of  the  tem¬ 
perance  cause. 

He  saw  the  trap,  and  sought  to  avoid  it  thus.  44  Well, 
I  suppose  you  would  say  that  it  was  the  influence  of  the 
temperance  cause  in  town  to  which  we  are  indebted  for 
this  change.” 

I  would  not  let  him  dodge  it  thus,  but  immediately 
added,  4 4  Never  mind  what  I  would  say,  I  am  not  a  citi¬ 
zen  of  the  town,  and  am  unacquainted  with  its  history ; 
my  opinion  would  not  be  worth  much  in  relation  to  the 
matter  ;  but,  Mr.  Stewart,  what  do  you  say  ? 

44  Well,”  said  he,  with  an  honesty  which  was  charac¬ 
teristic  of  the  man,  44  if  I  must  state  my  opinion,  I 
believe  that  is  it.” 

I  have  you  now !  thought  I,  and  I  was  determined  to 
push  my  advantage,  kindly,  but  earnestly.  44  If  the 
increasing  temperance  of  your  people,  and  the  diminu¬ 
tion  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  town  lias  really  reduced  your 
pauperism,  while  you  have  doubled  your  population,  it 
must,  in  the  meantime,  have  done  great  good  in  other 
directions.  It  must  have  improved  the  condition  of 
many  families,  who,  though  poor,  have  never  asked  aid 
of  the  town,  and  it  must  have  contributed  greatly  to  the 
domestic  happiness  of  your  people.” 

44  Undoubtedly,  undoubtedly!”  said  the  good  old 
man. 

44  And  still  further,  sir,  it  must  have  contributed  to 
the  general  improvement  of  the  morals  and  intelligence 
of  your  people.” 


A  NEW  PATRON. 


239 


“  Why  yes,  yes,”  said  he,  “  it  could  hardly  be  other¬ 
wise.” 

“  Well,  Mr.  Stewart,”  I  inquired,  “  ought  not  an  en¬ 
terprise  which  produces  such  admitted  and  desirable 
results,  to  receive  the  countenance,  good  wishes,  and 
patronage  of  all  good  citizens  ?  ” 

“  Yes,”  said  he,  promptly  and  decidedly  ;  and  with  a 
thoughtful  and  rather  sad  expression  of  countenance, 
he  added,  “  and  now  that  the  matter  has  thus  come 
fairly  before  me,  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  I 
have  not  done  quite  right  about  that  matter  heretofore, 
and  I  think  I  must  make  a  small  donation  to  your  soci¬ 
ety,”  and  with  that  he  drew  his  pocket-book,  and  made 
his  first  donation  to  the  temperance  cause.  The  amount 
I  have  forgotten.  It  was  less  material  than  the  fact 
that  he  had  now  determined  to  make  some  amends  for 
past  neglect.  I  thanked  the  kind  old  man  in  the  name 
of  the  association  I  served,  and  added  to  the  list  of  our 
patrons  the  name  of  Samuel  Stewart,  Sr.  Thanking 
him  further  for  his  hospitality,  and  receiving  from  him 
an  earnest  invitation  to  call  on  him  again  whenever  I 
should  visit  the  town,  I  bade  him  good-day. 

Immediately,  I  called  upon  his  son.  He  had  just 
returned  from  the  city.  I  gave  him  my  name,  and 
stated  my  business. 

“  Yes,  yes,”  said  he,  “  I  acknowledge  my  obligations 
always  to  sustain  the  temperance  enterprise.  It  is  a 
cause  I  shall  always  support  while  I  am  able  to  aid  any. 
Let  me  see,  what  was  the  amount  of  my  contribution 
last  year  ?  I  opened  to  the  page,  and  showed  him,  and 
as  he  saw  there  next  his  own,  the  name  of  his  father, 
he  started  back  with  a  look  of  surprise,  and  asked, 


240 


OUR  BEST  HOLD. 


u  When  did  you  get  that  subscription  ?  ” 

“  Within  the  last  hour,”  I  replied. 

He  seemed  utterly  amazed,  and  added,  “  I  would  not 
have  believed  it  possible  for  any  man  to  have  obtained  a 
subscription  from  my  father  for  that  object.  Though 
never  an  intemperate  man,  he  defends  the  moderate 
use,  and  has  entertained  very  strong  prejudices  against 
temperance  societies.” 

I  told  him  I  was  aware  of  all  that,  and  I  recited  to 
him  the  foregoing  history  of  our  encounter  at  Breck’s, 
in  Boston,  and  the  discussion  at  his  own  tea-table. 
When  I  had  concluded  the  history,  he  added,  “  Well, 
that  alone  pays  me  for  all  my  contributions  to  the  tem¬ 
perance  cause.” 

I  received  his  annual  contributions,  marked  “  paid,” 
against  Samuel  Stewart,  Jr.,  and  was  soon  on  my  way 
to  the  city,  for  the  day  was  spent. 

The  foregoing  history  teaches,  I  think,  that  in  dis¬ 
cussing  the  temperance  question,  even  with  very  decided 
opponents,  good'  policy  would  indicate  that  it  be  done 
with  courtesy  and  kindness,  and  that  in  such  discussion 
the  practical  working  of  the  enterprise  is,  to  use  the 
wrestler’s  phrase,  u  our  best  hold.” 

I  will  record  here  another  incident,  which,  though 
slight  in  itself,  may  interest  the  reader,  from  its  relation 
to  subsequent  events,  which  have  interested  vast  num¬ 
bers  of  people  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

At  the  close  of  a  public  lecture  in  the  city  of  Wor¬ 
cester,  Massachusetts,  during  the  autumn  of  1842,  I 
remarked  that  I  had  learned  with  great  pleasure  that 
recent  efforts  there  to  advance  the  cause  I  had  been 
advocating,  had  been  attended  with  very  gratifying  sue- 


GOUGH  !  GOUGH  ! 


241 


cess — in  the  reformation  of  quite  a  number  who  had 
suffered  much  in  years  past  from  intemperate  habits — 
and  that  I  had  further  learned  that  they  were  not  only 
exhibiting  to  those  around  them  the  benefits  of  the 
change,  by  sober  and  well-ordered  lives,  but  had  in  pub¬ 
lic  meetings  borne  interesting  testimony  in  relation  to 
their  new  and  happy  experience.  I  said  it  would  gratify 
me  if  some  of  the  new  converts  would  permit  me  to 
listen  to  their  testimony.  The  President  expressed  the 
hope  that  some  of  the  recently  reformed  brethren  would 
gratify  Dr.  Jewett  and  the  audience  by  some  remarks. 
Calls  immediately  came  from  various  parts  of  the  hall, 
for  Gough,  Gough,  Gough ! 

It  was  a  new  name  to  me,  but  seemed  to  have  become 
quite  well  known  to  the  people  of  Worcester"  The 
President  remarked  that,  if  Mr.  Gough  was  in  the  hall 
it  would  undoubtedly  gratify  all  present  if  he  would 
come  forward  and  address  the  meeting.  He  did  so,  and 
I  shall  never  forget  the  first  sentence  he  uttered  on  that 
occasion.  I  had  stated  in  my  lecture  that  it  had  then 
been  more  than  ten  years  since  I  had  swallowed  a  glass 
of  distilled  liquors — and  in  alluding  to  that  remark  he 
said, 

“  Mr.  President,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  I  should 
really  like  to  know  exactly  how  a  man  feels  who  has 
not  had  a  glass  of  liquor  in  his  stomach  for  ten  years,” 
and  with  that  be  went  on  to  describe  his  experiences  of 
the  new  life  he  was  living,  in  the  practice  of  abstinence 
from  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.  I  cannot,  of 
course,  report  his  address.  It  was  brief,  and  admirably 
adapted  to  the  time  and  surrounding  circumstances,  and 
delivered  in  a  manner  indicating  perfect  self-possession, 
11 


242 


DISCUSSION — ITS  VALUE. 


and  with  a  fluency  and  easy  command  of  language, 
remarkable  from  one  of  his  age,  and  who  could  have 
had  but  little  experience  in  public  speaking.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  remarks,  I  was  introduced  to  him,  and 
when,  after  a  few  words,  he  turned  away  to  converse 
with  some  of  the  crowd  who  seemed  anxious  to  speak 
with  him,  I  said  to  the  President  and  others  of  the 
group  near  me,  “  Look  well  to  that  young  man,  for,  if  I 
mistake  not,  you  will  be  able  to  use  him  to  some  pur¬ 
pose,  hereafter.”  Reader,  was  I  mistaken  in  the  opin¬ 
ion  I  then  and  there  expressed  ? 

It  is  no  part  of  my  plan  or  purpose,  in  the  preparation 
of  this  volume,  to  express  opinions  of  fellow-laborers, 
who  are  now  active  in  the  work  of  reform,  except  as 
they  were  connected  with  some  special  movement  I  may 
have  occasion  to  describe.  If  my  purpose  vTere  other¬ 
wise  I  might  well  make  Mr.  Gough  an  exception — as  he 
is  so  universally  known,  and  has,  through  an  ample  and 
interesting  volume,  told  the  story  of  his  eventful  life. 

While  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  with  greater  power 
of  endurance  than  I  now  possess,  I  was  accustomed  to 
improve  every  favorable  opportunity  to  discuss  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  temperance  and  the  liquor  system,  with  indi¬ 
viduals,  as  well  as  before  public  assemblies,  when  I 
found  a  man  disposed  to  defend  the  use  and  sale  of 
liquors,  for  thus,  and  thus  only,  could  I  learn  how  the 
subject  was  regarded  by  such  men  as  made  up  a  part  of 
every  congregation  I  addressed.  I  could  not,  in  public, 
combat  successfully  the  views  and  arguments  of  oppo- 
sers,  unless  I  knew  exactly  what  they  were.  This,  I 
could  only  learn,  to  my  satisfaction,  by  discussing  the 
matter  with  individuals  outside  the  lecture  room.  It 


THE  TIPSY  SON. 


243 


mattered  not  who  the  man  was,  or  what  his  position  in 
society,  a  learned  judge,  or  a  hod-carrier,  a  doctor  of 
divinity,  or  a  hostler.  Men  in  different  walks  of  life, 
and  with  different  degrees  of  education,  would  take 
widely  different  views  of  the  subject,  and  I  wished  to 
learn  them  all  as  far  as  practicable.  I  shall  have  occa¬ 
sion,  as  I  proceed  with  the  history  of  my  labor,  and 
that  of  my  cotemporaries,  to  refer  frequently  to  these 
individual  encounters,  for  some  of  them  furnished  rich 
material  for  reflection. 

I  had  lectured  one  evening  in  Westboro’,  a  fine  old 
town  in  Worcester  County,  and  the  following  day  a 
message  reached  me,  through  a  professional  brother, 
Dr.  Rising,  that  an  old  gentleman  living  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  town,  wished  to  see  and  have  a  talk  with 
me.  He  sent  me  word  that  he  had  plenty  of  beef  and 
pork  on  hand,  a  pretty  good  supply  of  rum,  and  an 
excellent  well  of  water,  and  he  would  make  me  quite 
welcome  to  a  share  of  his  good  things  if  I  would  call. 
I  proposed  to  the  Doctor  at  once  to  ride  out  and  see 
him,  and  together  we  visited  the  old  man.  After  a 
fitting  introduction  by  Dr.  R.,  he  began  at  once  to  state 
his  objections  to  our  doctrines  and  measures,  which  I 
answered  as  well  as  I  could.  By  the  time  we  had  got 
fairly  underway,  one  of  the  old  man’s  sons  came  into 
the  room,  and  seemed  quite  desirous  to  take  part  in  the 
discussion.  The  father  requested  him  to  be  silent,  but 
all  to  no  purpose.  He  had,  thus  early  in  the  morning, 
drank  enough  to  give  him  great  confidence  in  his  argu¬ 
mentative  powers.  He  was  determined  to  be  heard,  and 
therefore  went  on  with  his  senseless  gibberish,  which 
was  perfectly  disgusting.  The  old  man  was  overwhelmed 


244 


AFFLICTED — THE  OLD  STORY. 


with  confusion,  and  left  the  room.  I  followed  him  into 
the  front  yard,  and  renewed  my  talk  with  him,  while 
my  friend,  the  doctor,  very  kindly  managed  to  keep  the 
senseless  young  man  occupied  in  an  argument  upon 
“  liberty,”  “equal  rights,”  &c. 

As  I  joined  the  old  man  in  the  yard,  he  remarked 
with  a  good  deal  of  feeling,  “  everybody,  sir,  must  have 
their  troubles.  That  boy,  sir,  that  boy,  has  made  me  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.” 

I  inquired  if  the  misconduct  of  his  son  had  not  been 
caused  solely  by  his  use  of  intoxicating  drinks. 

“  Oh  yes,”  said  he,  “  I  suppose  it  has.” 

“  Well,  then,  sir,”  I  asked,  “will  you  not  aid  us  in 
the  great  work  of  reform,  and  help,  by  your  example 
and  influence,  to  banish  from  the  earth  an  accursed  sys¬ 
tem  which  has  dashed  your  own  cup  with  such  bitter 
dregs  ?  ” 

It  was,  with  the  afflicted  old  man,  a  moment  of  hesi¬ 
tation,  of  irresolution,  and  he  knew  not  what  to  answer. 
Finding  that  his  desire  for  a  discussion  of  the  temper¬ 
ance  question  had  very  suddenly  abated,  I  bade  him 
good  morning,  and  with  my  friend,  returned  to  town. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  all  mistakes  in  relation 
to  the  public  advocacy  of  temperance,  is,  the  opinion 
that  the  value  of  such  advocacy  may  be  measured  by 
the  number  of  persons  converted  to  the  doctrine  of  ab¬ 
stinence,  or  induced  then  and  there  to  drop  all  opposition 
to  our  doctrines  and  our  measures,  if  indeed,  they  do 
not  sign  the  pledge  of  abstinence  on  the  spot.  That 
opinion  was  most  prevalent  and  most  frequently  uttered 
during  the  Washingtonian  movement,  but  has  prevailed 
with  very  many  at  all  stages  of  the  enterprise.  Of 


CONVERTED  AT  A  BLOW. 


245 


course  no  thoughtful  or  reflecting  person  would  entertain 
or  express  an  opinion  so  utterly  at  variance  with  facts 
or  common  sense.  But  just  here  is  found  one  of  the  most 
serious  difficulties  we  have  to  contend  with.  Thousands 
who  do  a  good  deal  of  respectable  thinking  and  reason¬ 
ing  on  other  subjects,  will  not  take  time  to  investigate 
or  reason  soundly  on  any  matter  connected  with  intem¬ 
perance,  or  its  opposite  virtue,  or  on  the  movement 
intended  to  check  the  one  and  promote  the  other,  but 
give  utterance  to  crudities  which  are  discreditable  to 
their  own  intelligence,  and  mischievous  in  their  influence. 
For  more  than  forty  years  I  have  earnestly  sought  to 
mould  others  to  my  opinions  in  relation  to  this  matter 
of  the  use  of  intoxicants,  and  having  possessed  rare 
opportunities  for  observation,  I  have  carefully  noted  the 
various  ways  by  which  men  are  converted  to  our  views 
and  measures.  Here  and  there  one  is  converted  by  a 
single  sound  and  able  argument.  Such  individuals  are 
generally  fair-minded  men,  with  good  intellects,  and  a 
tolerable  education  on  general  subjects,  but  who  had 
been  led  to  entertain  false  notions  on  this  question  by 
the  unfortunate  concurrence  of  many  misleading  influ¬ 
ences,  or,  they  were  able  men  who  had  been  so  immersed 
in  other  affairs  that  they  had  never  before  heard  the 
subject  fairly  presented  by  an  individual  who  had  studied 
it  thoroughly.  Though  wrong  before  in  opinion,  and  it 
may  be  in  practice,  yet,  being  honorable  men  and  lovers 
of  the  truth,  they  yield  to  legitimate  influences,  and 
from  that  moment  may  be  relied  upon.  These  however, 
are  the  few,  as  compared  with  the  multitude  who  to-day 
are  staunch  friends  of  Temperance,  and  hearty  haters 
of  the  destructive  system  we  are  seeking  to  overthrow. 


246  TEMPERANCE  CONVENTIONS - HOW  EFFECTED. 

By  far  the  largest  portion  of  these  have  been  converted 
by  their  daily  observation  of  the  practical  working  of 
the  liquor  system,  and  their  natural  and  just  reflections 
thereon;  and  all  sensible  and  decent  people  would  be 
thus  converted  to  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  abstinence, 
were  it  not  for  counteracting  and  misleading  influences, 
which  I  shall  not  here  attempt  to  describe,  or  even  enu¬ 
merate,  but  shall  make  them  the  subject  of  remark  in 
some  other  connection.  Among  the  influences  which 
contribute  to  the  gradual,  noiseless,  but  sound  conversion 
of  the  millions  of  the  class  last  named,  should  be  reck¬ 
oned  also  what  they  casually  read  in  the  daily  and 
weekly  journals  of  the  results  of  the  liquor  traffic,  in  the 
records  of  brutality  and  crime,  of  mobs,  street  fights, 
Ac.,  and  of  multitudes  of  casualities  as  clearly  resulting 
from  the  imbecility  or  recklessness  induced  by  drink. 

These  millions,  scattered  all  over  the  land,  come  into 
our  temperance  meetings  already  converted  to  our  views, 
and  ready  to  join  us  in  our  efforts  for  the  removal  of  the 
scourge,  if  they  can  do  so  without  violence  to  their  con¬ 
viction  of  duty  to  other  interests,  or  their  acquired 
tastes,  and  if  there  were  practical  wisdom  enough  in 
our  ranks  to  make  satisfactory  arrangements  for  their 
reception,  their  consolidation  with  our  organized  forces, 
and  the  proper  employment  of  their  energies,  we  might 
soon  reckon  our  organized  and  working  force  by  millions. 
Well - -Perhaps - Ac. 

Of  those  converted  to  the  faith  by  our  operations,  by 
far  the  largest  portion,  not  less  I  think  than  nine-tenths, 
are  brought  to  sound  views,  fixed  purposes,  and  safe 
practices,  by  often  repeated  presentations  of  the  truth 
to  their  minds.  One  of  this  class,  we  will  suppose,  hears 


RUMINATING. 


247 


to-day  or  this  evening  a  lecture  or  discussion  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  and  he  goes  home  not  converted,  but  favorably  im¬ 
pressed.  If  he  held  false  views,  their  falsity  begins  to 
be  suspected,  but  is  not  fully  conceded  as  yet.  If  he 
entertained  ill-founded  prejudices,  tliev  have  been  soft¬ 
ened.  His  purpose,  heretofore  firm,  and  controlling,  to 
stand  aloof  from  the  temperance  efforts  of  his  time  and 
neighborhood,  has  been  shaken,  but  is  not  yet  abandoned. 
Thus  he  returns  to  his  home.  To-morrow  the  subject 
will  come  up  in  his  mind  for  review,  while  engaged  in  his 
vocation,  unless,  as  is  rarely  the  case,  his  calling  be  one 
which  engrosses  all  his  mental  powers.  He  will  recon¬ 
sider  the  statements  made,  the  argument  presented,  the 
conclusions  arrived  at,  the  practical  duties  urged,  and 
if  these  were  sound,  as  we  should  take  care  they  always 
should  be,  the  impression  of  last  evening,  instead  of 
being  effaced  or  lessened,  is,  in  fact,  deepened  by  his 
own  mental  operations.  Next  week,  or  next  month  it 
may  be,  he  listens  again  to  an  argument,  perhaps  on 
another  phase  of  the  same  great  subject,  and  favorable 
impressions  gain  strength,  and  thus,  in  the  course  of  a 
year,  by  a  succession  of  appeals  to  his  reason,  his  con¬ 
science,  his  interest,  his  affections,  his  patriotism,  his 
sense  of  justice,  his  regard  for  general  morality  and  good 
order,  he  is,  at  length,  prepared  heartily  to  join  us  in 
our  warfare  on  the  whole  machinery  of  drunkenness — 
the  forging  as  well  as  the  finishing  shops. 

Such  being  flie  facts  relative  to  the  conversion  of  the 
masses  to  our  views  and  practice,  do  they  not  afford  us 
practical  suggestions  as  to  our  modes  of  procedure  ? 

Will  not  our  brethren  seriously  inquire  whether  our 
present  modes  of  operation  are  wisely  fitted  to  produce 


248 


ONLY  TO  TRAVELERS. 


the  results  we  aim  at  ?  Is  the  weekly  routine  of  the 
Division  or  Lodge-room,  excellent  as  they  may  be,  and 
are,  for  certain  purposes,  to  be  at  all  relied  upon  for  the 
conversion  of  the  masses  to  our  doctrines  ?  The  masses 
in  their  homes,  or  in  the  street,  are  not  directly  moved 
by  what  we  do  up  in  the  Hall  yonder.  Binding  sheaves, 
and  threshing  the  grain,  is  very  necessary  and  very  hon¬ 
orable  labor,  but  we  must  look  to  other  operations  to  cut 
the  grain,  and  bring  it  to  the  threshing  floor.  Steamboat 
excursions,  oyster  suppers,  comic  songs,  or  dramatic 
-readings  may  contribute  to  present  enjoyment  and 
answer,  therefore,  useful  ends  ;  but  woe — a  thousand 
woes  to  our  blessed  enterprise,  if  these  are  to  be  mistaken 
for  the  means  of  converting  the  masses,  or  substituted 
for  hard,  self-denying,  continuous,  educational  efforts. 

In  my  public  condemnation  of  the  liquor  traffic,  of  all 
the  means  and  appliances  of  drunkenness,  I  have  been 
accustomed  to  comment  on  recent  occurrences  in  the 
immediate  vicinity,  where  they  had  been  of  such  a 
character  as  to  intensify  the  hatred  of  the  system  con¬ 
demned,  unless,  indeed,  such  comment  would  be  likely 
to  wound  severely  the  feelings  of  parties  interested. 
Sometimes  such  references  gave  rise  to  interesting 
discussions,  or  were  productive  of  results  worthy  of 
record. 

On  the  occasion  of  my  first  visit  to  Paxton  in  Wor¬ 
cester  County,  Mass.,  I  learned  that  the  keeper  of  the 
village  tavern,  who  sold  intoxicating  liquors  to  all  com¬ 
ers,  was  a  member  of  a  church  in  a  neighboring  town. 

•  I  learned  also,  that  in  applying  sometime  previous  for 
license,  he  assured  the  authorities  that  he  did  not  wish 
to  sell  to  residents  of  the  town — only  to  travelers.  Cu- 


TRAVELERS  ON  SHORT  ROUTES. 


249 


rious  to  see  liow  a  Christian  gentleman  would  deport 
himself  as  a  liquor  seller,  and  to  witness  this  nice  discrim¬ 
ination  between  travelers  and  the  thirsty  of  his  own 
locality,  I  decided  to  spend  a  portion  of  the  afternoon  in 
his  bar-room,  which  1  could  do  without  awakening  his 
suspicions  of  my  character  or  object,  as  I  was  an  entire 
stranger.  I  assumed,  therefore,  the  heedless,  listless 
air  of  one  quite  at  home  there,  and  dropped  in  upon  him. 
Picking  up  a  paper  from  the  table  I  seated  myself  in  a 
comfortable  armed  chair,  and  gave  myself  to  the  read¬ 
ing  of  the  landlord  and  his  company,  while  apparently 
interested  in  the  contents  of  the  paper.  A  careless 
question  or  two,  when  a  new  customer  came  in,  would 
readily  determine  whether  he  were  a  traveler  or  a  resi¬ 
dent.  “  How  do  you  find  the  traveling  to-day,  sir  ?” 
“  1  have  not  been  on  the  road,  sir,  I  reside  near  by.” 
“  Ah  1  excuse  me,  sir,  I  did  not  know  but  I  could  learn 
of  you  the  condition  of  the  road,  I  shall  have  to  travel 
it  to  morrow.”  He  takes  his  drink  and  is  off.  I  mark 
him  down  in  my  memorandum,  “  Traveler  on  short 
routes, — to  the  liquor  bar  of  our  Christian  landlord  and 
home  again ;  no  reason  to  inquire  the  way  ;  quite  fa¬ 
miliar  with  it.”  Here  comes  another.  Drops  into  a 
chair  to  rest  him  a  little  before  drinking.  Suspect  he 
may  be  a  traveler  bona  fide.  “  Can  you  tell  me  what  is 
the  population  of  your* town  here,  sir?”  “I  cannot,  I 
am  not  a  resident.”  “  Ah !  excuse  me,  sir,  I  did  not 
know  but  you  were  a  citizen  of  the  town.”  Thus,  by 
the  answers  obtained  to  my  brief  questions,  I  learned 
just  how  many  of  the  parties  were  travelers,  and  not 
less  than  three  fourths  of  those  who  drank  that  after¬ 
noon  at  the  bar,  were  resident  tipplers  of  Paxton. 


250 


PRETTY  MUCH  BURNED  OUT. 


u 


>> 


Late  in  the  afternoon  a  grey-haired  and  venerable  old 
gentleman,  whose  countenance  and  bearing,  notwith¬ 
standing  very  marked  appearances  of  dissipation,  indi¬ 
cated  intellect,  education,  and  familiarity  with  the  better 
class  of  society,  walked  in,  made  his  way  directly  to 
the  bar,  and  called  for  a  drink.  The  landlord  handed 
down  a  decanter  of  liquors  of  which  the  old  man  more 
than  half  filled  his  glass,  and  poured  it  down  his  throat 
without  any  mixture.  What  a  draught  to  pour  into  the 
stomach  of  a  living  man  !  Familiar  as  I  am  with  the 
varied  exhibitions  of  the  drink  curse,  there  was  some¬ 
thing  in  this  scene  that  excited  unusual  interest,  and  I 
determined  to  know  more  about  it.  Assuming,  there¬ 
fore,  to  avoid  exciting  his  suspicions,  that  coarse  and 
reckless  style  of  expression  common  among  heartless 
men  case-hardened  by  the  constant  observance  of  wrong 
which  they  do  not  care  to  lessen ,  and  of  sorrows  and  suf- 
ferings  ivhich  they  never  seek  to  alleviate ,  I  inquired,  as 
the  old  man  left  the  bar-room,  “  Landlord,  what  old 
daddy  was  that?”  “That!”  he  replied,  “is  doctor 
Harrison.”  “  What !  he  a  doctor  ?  he  don’t  look  like 
one.”  “  Well,”  said  he,  “  notwithstanding  his  bad  looks 
now,  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  celebrated  physicians 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  has  in  his  time  done  a 
world  of  business.”  I  remarked  that  from  present  ap¬ 
pearances  he  was  not  likely  to  bless  or  trouble  the  world 
long.  “  No,”  said  he — “  his  copper  is  pretty  much  burned 
out” 

These  were  the  exact  words  of  tliat  obdurate  man. 
Yet  he  had  once  had  a  heart  in  some  measure  suscepti¬ 
ble  to  the  influences  of  Divine  truth.  In  other  years 
he  had  listened  with  interest  to  the  story  of  Calvary  and 


THE  POOR  OLD  DOCTOR.  251 

the  Cross.  Those  lips  of  his  had  once  pronounced  a 
Christian  vow  and  covenant,  and  now — this  utterance — 
“  His  copper  is  pretty  much  burned  out.”  It  was  now 
evident  that  he  understood  quite  well  what  effect  the 
alcoholic  poisons  he  furnished  were  producing  on  the 
old  Doctor’s  stomach,  for  in  that  coarse  figure  he  had 
expressed  the  sad  truth.  As  the  continued  action  of 
the  fire  without,  and  the  chemical  action  of  the  con¬ 
tents,  burn  out  in  time  the  copper  of  the  still,  so  he 
knew  that  the  fiery  draughts  which  the  old  man  daily 
swallowed,  would  soon  burn  out,  or  destroy,  the  vitality 
of  the  organs  with  which  it  came  in  contact.  I  prac¬ 
ticed  medicine  ten  years,  and  am  acquainted  with  the 
trials,  hardships,  and  overwhelming  responsibilities  inci¬ 
dent  to  that  calling,  and  here  was  one  of  my  own  pro¬ 
fession  who  had,  during  a  long  life,  served  the  commu¬ 
nity.  Numberless  nights  had  he  passed  without  sleep, 
by  the  bed-sides  of  the  sick  and  suffering.  Often  had 
he  faced  the  driving  snow  and  sleet,  and  the  cutting 
winds  of  our  northern  winters,  riding  over  the  hills  of 
Worcester  County,  at  the  call  of  the  sick  or  their 
startled  and  anxious  friends.  He  had  grown  old  and 
grey  in  the  service,  and  was  now,  in  the  decline  of  life, 
justly  entitled  to  the  enjoyment  of  ease  and  competence, 
and  of  whatever  could  minister  to  physical  health  and 
comfort.  Nor  is  this  all.  When  the  infirmities  of  age 
come,  and  vitality  is  waning  ;  when  the  step  is  feeble 
and  the  eye  is  dim ;  when  the  pleasant  things  of  this 
material  world  yield  less  than  thoir  former  pleasure  to 
the  enfeebled  nerves ;  then  an  old  man  of  education  and 
feeling,  if  he  has  been  a  faithful  servant  of  the  public, 
lias  claims  on  that  public  for  something  quite  as  needful 


252 


EXPELLED. 


to  his  comfort  as  his  books,  staff,  and  easy  chair,  or  the 
appropriate  diet  of  age,  his  bread,  milk,  and  fruit. — The 
generous  appreciation  of  his  past  services  by  the  commu¬ 
nity  ivhich  has  profited  by  them. 

But  this  good  old  doctor,  connected,  as  I  afterwards 
learned,  with  some  of  the  best  families  in  that  region — 
what  had  a  grateful  community  for  him,  now  in  his 
second  childhood  ?  Fiery  Rum  by  the  half  tumbler  as 
often  as  a  diseased  and  overmastering  appetite  impelled 
him  to  seek  it.  “  His  copper  is  pretty  much  burned 
out.”  Reader,  I  am  not  a  bad  tempered  man,  can  bear 
personal  abuse  with  more  calmness  than  most  people. 
Have  had  the  ignorant  and  brutal  shake  their  clenched 
fists  quite  too  close  to  my  face  for  convenience  or  com¬ 
fort,  while  addressing  to  me  language  more  emphatic 
than  elegant — and  I  have  felt  for  my  wretched  assail¬ 
ants  at  the  time,  only  a  yearning  desire  to  be  avenged 
on  them,  if  possible,  by  doing  them  good — and  yet,  I 
must  confess  that  just  the  remembrance  of  that  heartless 
utterance  concerning  that  feeble,  wretched,  despairing 
old  man,  makes  my  blood  boil  again  along  its  channels 
almost  as  when  I  first  heard  it.  In  the  lecture  of  that 
evening  I  informed  my  audience  where  I  had  spent  the 
afternoon,  and  gave  the  facts  above  stated.  The  storm 
of  wrath  which  was  thus  kindled  around  that  liquor  seller 
never  abated  until  he  abandoned  the  vile  business.  I 
reported  the  facts  also  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  and  he  was  soon  expelled. 

Just  here,  reader,  I  wish  you  to  consider  a  question  I 
am  about  to  propound  to  you,  and  especially  do  I  wish 
you  to  consider  it  thoughtfully,  profoundly,  if  you  have 
hitherto  had  any  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  licensing 


WHY  IS  IT  ? 


253 

the  sale  of  liquors,  or  preventing  their  sale  where  you 
may  legally  suppress  it.  Why  is  it  that  men  once  dis- 
tinguished  perhaps  for  their  gentleness  and  kindliness  of 
character,  for  their  ready  sympathy  with  the  wronged 
or  the  suffering,  before  engaging  in  the  liquor  traffic, 
become  such  brutal  and  unfeeling  wretches  after  follow¬ 
ing  it  for  a  few  years?  That  is  notoriously  the  fact. 
The  State  of  New  York,  on  whose  territory  I  write  these 
words,  could  furnish  you  with  ten  full  regiments  of  men 
now  engaged  in  the  liquor  traffic,  who  are  among  the 
most  heartless  and  unfeeling  wretches  which  the  pa¬ 
tience  of  God,  and  lax  human  laws  permit  to  walk  the 
earth  unrestrained.  Yet  these  men,  hundreds  of  them, 
were  once  kind-hearted,  sympathetic,  and  in  early  life 
could  be  counted  on  for  the  defence  of  the  wronged,  or 
the  lifting  up  of  the  fallen,  as  confidently  as  their  as¬ 
sociates. 

What  has  wrought  the  change  ?  Not  merely  the  pur¬ 
suit  of  gain  by  traffic.  Some  of  the  best  men  now  liv¬ 
ing  have  spent  their  lives  in  mercantile  business.  Buy¬ 
ing  and  selling  the  products  of  the  earth,  or  of  human 
skill  and  labor,  does  not  degrade  men.  A  man  may 
weigh  out  sugar,  tea,  coffee,  and  spices,  butter,  cheese, 
dried  fruits,  Ac..,  for  half  a  century,  and  be  all  the  time 
growing  a  better  man,  and  a  more  devoted  Christian. 
Why  may  he  not  advance  in  excellence  while  dealing  in 
wines,  ales,  Ac.,  if  it  be  no  wrong  to  sell  them?  Con¬ 
sider  that  question  thoughtfully.  The  answer  you  frame 
to  it,  even  in  your  own  mind,  may  have  an  influence 
upon  your  future,  and  of  those  around  you. 

If  the  brutalizing  process  is  due  to  the  inherent  wick¬ 
edness  of  the  traffic  and  the  degrading  associations  with 


254 


THE  MAJOR. 


which  it  must  inevitably  be  connected,  then  what  fol¬ 
lows  ?  No  man  can  sustain  a  system  so  accursed,  even 
by  so  much  patronage  as  the  purchase  of  a  single  glass, 
without  becoming  responsible  just  so  far  for  its  results. 
No  man  can  give  his  voice  and  vote  for  its  toleration, 
without  becoming,  in  part,  responsible  for  the  resulting 
crime,  and  the  terrible  evils  inflicted  by  that  traffic  upon 
all  the  interests  of  society  and  man. 

An  illustration  of  the  demoralizing  tendency  of  the 
liquor  traffic  fell  under  my  observation  at  the  town  of 
Holden.  Major  Adipose,  I  will  call  him,  for  he  was  a 
man  immensely  oleaginous,  kept  the  village  tavern.  He 
was  selling  without  license,  and  was,  of  course,  exposed 
to  the  penalties  of  the  law  in  case  any  body  could  be 
found  courageous  enough  to  complain  of  and  prosecute 
•  him  to  conviction.  He  threatened  all  sorts  of  calamities 
to  any  one  who  should  venture  to  do  this.  As  an  indi¬ 
cation  of  what  might  happen,  he  used  to  ride  through 
the  town  in  his  gig  with  any  number  of  raw-hides  con¬ 
veniently  arranged  around  him,  and  dedicated  with 
diverse  oaths,  and  great  emphasis,  to  the  special  benefit 
of  any  cold  water  fanatic  who  might  presume  to  com¬ 
plain  against  him.  As  he  was  a  man  of  immense  pro¬ 
portions  he  thought  thus  to  frighten  the  fanatics  and 
continue  to  violate  the  laws  with  impunity.  He  was 
however  prosecuted,  and  now  what  was  to  be  done  ? 
His  prototype,  Jack  Falstaff,  had  declared  long  ago, 
that  “  the  better  part  of  valor  is  discretion.” 

The  Major  was  discreet,  and  instead  of  inflicting  the 
threatened  chastisement  on  the  offender  himself,  he 
engaged  his  hostler  to  do  it ;  and  when  our  small,  but 
very  energetic  brother  Damon  was  passing  by  one  day, 
the  said  hostler  assailed  him.  Damon  did  not  fancy  the 


TAKE  HIM  OFF!— TAKE  HIM  OFF ! ! — Pace  255. 


TAKE  HIM  OFF. 


255 


u 


55 


titillation  of  the  raw-hide,  and  grappled  with  his  assail¬ 
ant  though  a  man  of  twice  his  size.  He  was,  however, 
borne  down  to  the  earth  by  the  superior  weight  and 
muscle  of  the  huge  fellow,  but  as  he  went  down  contrived 
to  draw  up  his  short  legs,  and  plant  his  boots  in  the 
hostler’s  corporation.  Poising  him  thus,  as  on  a  pivot 
above  him,  he  clutched  him  by  the  throat  with  one  hand, 
while  with  the  other  he  snatched  the  whip  dexterously 
from  his  grasp,  and  changing  it  in  his  hand,  so  as  to 
strike  with  the  butt  rather  than  the  small  end,  he  bela¬ 
bored  the  face  and  head  of  the  fellow  with  sharp  and 
cutting  blows,  still  holding  him  by  the  throat  with  the 
other  hand.  From  all  quarters  men  rushed  to  the  aid 
of  Damon,  but  found  him  really  getting  along  nicely. 
The  big  hostler,  however,  was  roaring  for  mercy,  “  Take 
him  oil,  take  him  off,”  while  in  fact,  Damon  was  flat  upon 
his  back  directly  under  him.  I  was  assured  by  parties 
who  saw  the  encounter,  that  it  was  really  one  of  the 
most  comical,  or  tragi-comical  they  ever  witnessed,  to 
see  that  great  lubber  poised  on  the  short,  stumpy  legs  of 
little  Damon,  held  by  the  throat,  and  receiving  a  shower 
of  blows  on  what  used  to  be  his  upper  story,  he  all  the 
while  shouting  “Take  him  off,  take  him  off,”  while  him¬ 
self  was  in  fact  uppermost  in  the  scuffle.  The  parties 
were  separated,  and  Damon  went  directly  to  Worcester, 
made  a  complaint  against  his  assailant,  had  him  arrested 
and  tried  for  the  assault.  He  was  fined  smartly  for 
this  wanton  attack  upon  a  peaceful  citizen.  The  magis¬ 
trate,  as  I  heard,  remarked  after  the  close  of  the  trial, 
that  with  the  evidence  before  him,  he  could  do  no  less 
than  fine  the  fellow,  but  that  when  he  looked  upon  his 
bruised,  blackened,  and  swollen  face,  he  almost  felt  that 
he  was  inflicting  extra  judicial  punishment. 


256 


THREATENED. 


This  cowardly  assault  on  Damon  before  described,  in¬ 
stigated  by  the  liquor  dealer,  Major  Adipose,  was  but  a 
specimen  of  that  gentleman’s  performances.  Another, 
indicating  as  little  regard  for  decency,  as  he  had  before 
shown  for  law  and  personal  rights,  may  help  the  reader 
to  understand  what  I  mean  by  the  degrading  influence 
of  the  liquor  traffic. 

At  the  close  of  an  address  on  temperance  in  a  public 
hall  at  Holden,  by  a  blind  lecturer,  a  Mr.  Palmeter,  it 
was  proposed  to  take  up  a  collection  for  his  benefit,  or 
that  of  the  society  by  whom  he  was  employed.  The 
President  of  the  Society  requested  that  some  gentlemen 
would  pass  through  the  congregation  and  receive  the 
collection.  Major  Adipose,  who  was  sitting  in  the  back 
part  of  the  hall  and  near  the  door,  arose  and  passed  his 
hat,  into  which  many  dropped  their  coin,  supposing  that 
out  of  pity  to  an  unfortunate  man,  he  was  acting  in  good 
faith. 

After  having  collected  what  he  could,  he  left  the  hall 
for  his  bar-room,  counted  out  the  money,  and  furnished 
the  loafers  who  had  gathered  there,  with  as  much  rum 
as  the  money  collected  would  pay  for.  In  my  monthly 
report  I  gave  these  facts  to  the  public,  and  as  our  “  Tem¬ 
perance  Journal”  had  there  an  immense  circulation,  the 
Major  found  himself  famous,  or  infamous  very  suddenly. 
He  vowed  vengeance  on  Dr.  Jewett.  He  would  “  pound 
him  to  a  jelly  if  he  could  put  an  eye  upon  him.”  “  Let 
him  visit  this  region  again  at  his  peril,”  Ac. 

An  opportunity  to  put  his  awful  threats  into  execution 
soon  arrived.  I  had  an  appointment  at  West  Boylston, 
and  the  Major  came  over. 

“  Gathering  his  brows  like  gathering  storm, 

Nursing  his  wrath  to  keep  it  warm.” 


TEN  CENTS. 


261 


u 


To  give  the  wretched  concern  a  show  of  respectability 
it  was  christened  “  The  Temperance  Review.”  With 
the  intent,  I  suppose,  to  stir  the  blood  of  the  faithful 
and  prompt  them  to  heroic  deeds  in  defence  of  their 
imperiled  liberties,  the  publisher  had  placed  directly 
under  the  head  or  title  of  the  paper,  the  line  of  Burns : 

“  Scots  wha  lia’  with  Wallace  bled.” 

In  a  brief  review  of  the  new  paper  which  I  sent  to  the 
“  Temperance  Standard,”  I  ventured  to  suggest  to  the 
editor  and  publisher  a  few  lines  which  I  judged  better 
suited  to  his  purpose  than  any  thing  Burns  ever  wrote, 
although  not  quite  so  good  poetry  as  his. 

Sots,  wi  noses  fiery  red, 

Sots,  whose  pockets  long  ha  bled, 

Who  can  boast  a  rum  swelled  head 
Still  contend  for  Rum ! 

'  Steam  it  still  by  day  and  night, 

Yield  not  up  that  glorious  right,  * 

And  with  temperance  tyrants  fight, 

Nerve  yourselves  wi  Rum  ! 

The  leading  article  of  the  paper  occupied  six  mortal 
columns,  and  its  first  sentence  contained  a  very  impor¬ 
tant  piece  of  information,  as  follows : 

“  A  quart  of  rum  generally  sells  for  ten  cents.” 

Reader,  please  observe  the  care,  the  prudence,  the 
scrupulous  regard  for  truth  manifested  in  the  framing 
of  that  sentence.  “  A  quart  of  rum  sells  for  ten  cents,” 
would  have  been  lame.  It  might  have  misled  the  read¬ 
ers  of  the  “  Review,”  but  the  “  generally  ”  qualifies  all 
and  renders  it  perfect.  Dr.  Tewksbury  knew  that  a 


262 


THE  WHOLE  COST. 


quart  of  rum  sometimes  sells  for  more  than  ten  cents. 
Mixed  in  the  shape  of  sling  and  sold  by  the  glass,  it  would 
bring  from  respectable  tipplers,  ten  times  the  sum.  By 
the  poor  drunkard  “  a  quart  of  rum  ”  has  often  been  pur¬ 
chased  at  a  still  higher  price — his  hat — his  coat — the 
scanty  wardrobe  of  his  wife — or  his  children’s  shoes. 
The  first  sentence  of  the  first  article  in  the  first  number 
of  the  “  Temperance  Review,”  though  very  short,  is 
very  expressive — full  of  meaning.  “  A  quart  of  rum 
generally  sells  for  ten  cents.”  Immediately  after  this 
sentence  follows  an  interrogatory  worthy  of  serious  re¬ 
flection  and  a  sober  answer.  It  has  been  repeatedly 
answered  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts  heretofore,  and 
will  receive  an  answer  within  a  twelve  month  that  will 
astonish  the  Doctor.  “  Now,  if  one  person  has  a  quart 
of  rum  and  another  has  ten  cents,  whose  business  is  it 
if  they  exchange  property  ?”  The  beggared  wife  and 
children  of  the  infatuated  drunkard  think  it  their  busi¬ 
ness,  and  bitterly  complain  of  such  exchanges  of  prop¬ 
erty.  The  people  of  Massachusetts  have  thought  it  their 
business  for  three-fourths  of  a  century,  and  have  under¬ 
taken  to  regulate  such  exchanges  of  property.  They 
have  that  “notion”  in  their  head  still,  and  will  answer 
the  Doctor’s  question,  if  I  mistake  not,  by  sending  the 
selling  party  where  thousands  of  the  purchasers  usually 
go.  But  a  truce  to  this,  I  shall  never  get  over  the  first 
page  of  the  Review  at  this  rate.  With  little  comment 
I  will  add  a  few  extracts  from  the  same  article.  “  Li¬ 
quors  have  not  an  influence  on  the  score  of  temptation, 
which  they  have  not  in  common  with  all  created  things.” 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  that  the  Doctor  can 
quote  Scripture  quite  to  his  purpose : 


NONSENSE  IN  PRINT. 


203 


“  The  proper  rule  which  enables  us  to  judge  of  our 
duty  in  relation  to  tempting  articles,  is  this:  ‘  my  breth¬ 
ren  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  tempta¬ 
tions.’  James  i.,  2.” 

The  following  statement  may  surprise  some,  but  we 
assure  them  it  is  seriously  and  unblusliingly  made : 

“  We  have  much  direct  testimony  that  the  tempta¬ 
tions  that  liquors  possess  is  salutary  discipline.  Tavern- 
keepers’  sons,  or  drunkards’  sons  are  seldom  drunkards, 
or  even  spree-drinkers.  The  constant  exposure  to  liquor 
destroys  its  tempting  influence,  and  disciplines  effectu¬ 
ally  in  the  way  which  they  should  go.”  If  “  the  way 
in  which  they  should  go”  is  to  vice,  disease,  and  infamy, 
no  doubt  “  the  constant  exposure  to  liquors”  disciplines 
effectually  “  in  that  way.” 

Again,  we  have  the  following  items  of  truth  and 
wisdom. 

44  Few  fall  by  over-drinking,  and  few  by  each  and  every 
other  sensual  indulgence,  yet  it  is  clear  that  protection 
is  not  the  thing  needed  ;  but  a  help  to  overcome  the 
temptations  which  are  everywhere  very  properly  and 
serviceably  strewn  in  our  paths.” 

From  these  quotations  the  reader  will  be  able  to  form 
a  tolerable  idea  of  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  “Tem¬ 
perance  Review.” 

I  had  long  desired  that  the  defenders  of  the  liquor 
traffic  would  put  their  views  in  good  fair  print,  so  that 
all  interested  could  study  them.  I  fancied  there  might 
be  some  advantage  to  us  in  having  something  tangible 
for  us  tor  strike  at,  for  it  strains  a  man’s  muscles  severely 
to  strike  or  kick  at  a  shadow.  I  therefore  welcomed  the 
new  publication,  and  calculated  that  I  might  at  least  get 


264 


THE  PATIENT  DIES. 


some  amusement  out  of  the  concern.  When  the  second 
number  appeared,  it  was  evident  that  the  editor  had 
poured  the  wealth  of  his  mind  into  the  first  number,  for 
No.  2  was  filled  with  the  most  senseless  drivel  ever  put 
in  print.  It  was  utterly  unworthy  of  notice,  and  so  I 
waited  with  patience  for  No.  3,  but  no  number  three  ever 
appeared.  That  was  the  last  attempt  to  establish  an 
avowed  organ  of  the  liquor  interests  in  New  England, 
and  I  venture  to  predict  that  a  long  time  will  elapse 
before  the  folly  will  be  repeated. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


Incompetent  Advocates — Their  influence — Our  early  Advocates — 
District  Societies — On  time — The  Christian  way — The  Lunch — 
A  Good  Time — The  lesson  of  it — Visit  the  Brethren — Rhymes — 
A  new  Field — How  shall  we  fix  it  ? — Plan  of  operations — Trouble 
in  the  Camp. 

During  the  year  1845, 1  relinquished  the  agency  of  the 
Massachusetts  Temperance  Union.  Through  the  opera¬ 
tion  of  causes  already  described,  it  had  lost  its  local 
auxiliaries  and  a  large  portion  of  its  income.  The  full 
import  of  those  facts  were  not  appreciated  at  the  time, 
even  by  the  masses  of  our  most  devoted  friends.  Knowing 
that  the  society  had  once  been  powerful  every  way,  they 
did  not  doubt  but  it  had  still  ability  to  support  one  agent 
in  the  field,  and  hence  friends  in  the  localities  where  I 
lectured  did  not  feel  the  necessity  of  efforts  to  reward  my 
labor  as  they  would  were  I  not  the  agent  of  a  once  pow¬ 
erful  society.  I  became  convinced  that  I  could  better 
secure  an  adequate  support  by  independent  labor,  and 
therefore  resigned. 

My  judgment  did  not  approve  the  change,  so  far  as 
the  interests  of  the  cause  were  concerned,  but  the  claims 
of  my  family  made  it  necessary.  My  own  observation 
has  convinced  me  thoroughly  that  those  who  devote 
themselves  to  the  public  advocacy  of  temperance  should 
go  forth  under  the  sanction  of  some  well-known  and 
12  C2653 


266  INCOMPETENT  ADVOCATES— -THEIR  INFLUEMCE. 

reliable  organization,  and  be  able  to  show  their  creden¬ 
tials,  if  required.  This  may  not  be  necessary  in  the 
case  of  individuals  who  have  long  labored  in  the  cause, 
and  whose  relations  to  it  have  come  to  be  well  under¬ 
stood,  but  no  harm  can  come  to  the  enterprize  or  the 
public  by  having  the  labor  of  even  such  men  performed 
under  the  sanction  of  some  reliable  National,  State,  or 
County  organization.  The  cause  has  suffered  immensely 
from  the  unworthy  character,  of  very  many  who  have 
been  engaged  in  its  advocacy.  Thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  influential  men  in  every  state  north  of  the 
Ohio  river,  (I  speak  not  of  the  South,  for  I  am  not  ac¬ 
quainted  with  facts  that  will  warrant  it,)  who  are  not  as 
yet  converts  to  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  abstinence 
but  who  are  kindly  disposed  to  the  temperance  enter¬ 
prize,  have  ceased  to  attend  temperance  gatherings  alto¬ 
gether,  as  a  consequence  of  having  been  so  frequently 
and  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  character  of  the  dis¬ 
courses  they  have  listened  to.  This  ought  not  so  to  be, 
but  it  cannot  be  otherwise,  until  our  local  societies  of 
every  form  are  more  careful  in  relation  to  the  character 
and  qualifications  of  those  whom  they  introduce  to  the 
public.  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  difficulties  in  the  case, 
of  the  pertinacity  with  which  some  mercenary  characters 
press  their  services  upon  our  local  societies  ;  of  the  de¬ 
ception  practiced  on  them  through  the  employment  of 
circulars  filled  with  complimentary  notices,  of  the  origin 
of  which  there  is  small  occasion  to  doubt ;  and  I  am 
aware  of  the  extensive  demand  for  more  competent  lec¬ 
turers.  Still,  it  is  far  better  that  local  societies,  who  for 
any  cause  are  unable  to  command  the  services  of  a  com¬ 
petent  advocate,  should  be  content  with  such  services  as 


OUR  EARLY  ADVOCATES. 


267 


they  can  extemporize  or  secure  among  tlieir  own  people, 
than  run  the  risk  of  introducing  to  a  public  meeting 
men  whom  they  know  nothing  of,  and  whose  senseless 
twaddle  will,  perhaps,  cause  the  earnest  friends  of  tem¬ 
perance  to  wish  he  had  opened  his  mouth  in  China  or 
the  Fejee  Islands,  rather  than  in  their  hearing,  and  as 
an  advocate  of  a  great  and  holy  cause.  Men  who  are 
accustomed  to  listen  to  able  public  speakers,  in  the 
church,  the  lyceum-hall,  the  courts  of  justice,  and  at 
political  gatherings,  will  not  be  converted  to  our  views 
by  a  succession  of  mirth-provoking  anecdotes — illustrat¬ 
ing  nothing  but  the  speaker’s  folly  and  utter  unfitness 
to  grapple  with  a  great  question  having  intimate  rela¬ 
tions  with  all  the  interests  and  hopes  of  men.  With 
the  masses  of  men  enterprises  are  judged  by  the  char¬ 
acter  of  their  advocates.  It  is  vain  to  argue  that  they 
ought  not  to  be.  They  are ;  and  in  the  conduct  of  a 
great  reform  movement,  wisdom  would  dictate  that  its 
friends  should  adapt  their  measures,  not  to  some  imagi¬ 
nary  state  of  things,  but  to  the  actual.  There  were  no 
grounds  of  complaint  in  regard  to  the  character  and 
qualifications  of  those  who  went  forth  as  temperance  ad¬ 
vocates  in  New  England  prior  to  the  year  1840.  Rev. 
Doctors  Edwards  and  Hewett,  Jonathan  Kitteredge,Esq., 
Daniel  Frost,  Esq.,  Rev.  Messrs.  Hildreth,  Coleman,  and 
Cobb,  all  educated  and  able  men,  and  they  commanded 
the  respect  even  of  those  whom  they  failed  to  convince 
of  the  soundness  of  their  doctrine  or  the  safety  and 
policy  of  the  practice  they  recorfnnended.  With  those 
who  acted  as  agents,  of  the  cause  in  the  Middle,  Western, 
and  Southern  States,  I  had  no  opportunity  of  becoming 
acquainted,  with  the  exception  of  Rev.  T.  P.  Hunt,  of 


268 


DISTRICT  SOCIETIES. 


whom  I  have  in  a  former  chapter  expressed  a  very  de¬ 
cided  opinion. 

While  serving  the  people  of  Massachusetts  I  became 
acquainted  with  a  system  of  operations  to  advance  the 
cause  carried  on  at  that  time  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  in 
Worcester  County,  which  from  its  common-sense  char¬ 
acter  and  excellent  results,  deserves  special  attention. 
Since  I  resigned  my  agency  in  1845,  the  system  has 
been  extended  to  other  counties,  mainly  through  the  in¬ 
strumentality  of  Rev.  Edwin  Thompson,  an  indefatigable 
and  devoted  servant  of  the  cause,  who  through  all 
changes  and  by  all  possible  or  conceivable  modes  of  ope¬ 
ration  which  commended  themselves  to  his  judgment, 
acquired  tastes  and  habits  of  thought,  has  served  the 
state  and  people  of  Massachusetts  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  at  least,  and  whose  devotion  to  the  cause  was 
never  questioned,  even  by  those  who  differed  with  him 
widely  as  to  modes  of  proceeding.  I  have  never  become 
acquainted  with  any  system  of  county  operations,  or 
those  embracing  so  large  portions  of  territory,  which  I 
regard  as  equal  in  value  and  effectiveness  as  that  I 
am  about  to  describe  ;  and  if  the  account  of  it  which 
I  may  here  give  shall  lead  to  the  formation  of  similar 
organizations  in  other  sections  of  our  country,  my  pur¬ 
pose  will  be  accomplished  and  the  cause  of  temperance 
surely  advanced. 

A  pledge  of  abstinence  from  the  manufacture,  sale, 
and  use  of  all  intoxicating  liquors  and  of  mutual  coope¬ 
ration  for  the  destruction  of  the  entire  liquor  system, 
with  a  few  simple  and  common-sense  rules  for  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  the  society,  comprises  all  its  machinery.  Its 
meetings  are  held  quarterly,  and  no  lover  of  temperance 


ON  TIME. 


2G9 

could  attend  one  of  them  without  being  edified  and 
comforted. 

At  each  of  these  “  District  Temperance  Meetings,” 
(for  so  they  are  called,)  the  place  for  holding  the  next 
is  fixed,  and  the  future  lecturer  or  essayist  is  announced. 
The  hour  of  meeting  is  10  A.  M.,  and  everybody  is 
invited  to  attend  and  bring  his  family  and  neighbors. 
Go  early  that  you  may  see  the  show  to  advantage.  You 
will  find  on  reaching  the  place  a  committee  in  waiting 
to  receive  and  make  you  welcome.  If  you  have  ridden 
a  long  way,  and  purpose  to  return  home  after  the  close 
of  the  exercises  and  would  have  your  horse  fed,  make 
known  your  wishes  to  the  committee  and  the  matter  will 
be  attended  to.  If  you  have  reached  the  place  some 
fifteen  minutes  before  10  o’clock,  you  will  presently  see 
lines  of  carriages  approaching  you  on  the  several  roads 
that  centre  at  the  village,  and  you  will  be  likely  to  say, 
“  How  admirably  they  must  have  timed  their  starting.” 
Why  should  they  not?  They  are  sensible,  sober  people, 
and  can  not  only  guess,  but  reckon.  Every  adult  who 
will  gather  here  to-day  had  in  youth  the  benefit  of  our 
common  schools — not  select  schools,  or  parochial  schools 
— but  the  blessed  common  schools. 

That  line  of  carriages  came  from  II - ,  a  distance 

of  ten  miles.  They  knew  that  an  easy  drive  of  two 

hours  would  bring  them  here  without  injury  to  their 

horses,  and  so  they  started  at  8  o’clock  precisely.  That 

was  the  hour.  Thev  all  understood  it  and  were  on  hand 

%/ 

at  the  spot  designated,  at  the  time  fixed,  for  it  had  been 
arranged  that  they  should  drive  to  the  meeting  in  com¬ 
pany.  There  is  no  feature  about  those  District  Meetings 
more  noticeable  than  the  nice  regard  of  all  parties  to 
the  rare  virtue  of  punctuality. 


270 


THE  CHRISTIAN  WAT. 


Here  they  come !  and  as  the  carriages  successively 
reach  the  door,  and  their  occupants  “  jump  out,”  you 
observe  that  some  of'  them  contained  each  a  whole  family. 
Yes,  that  is  the  true  idea.  Father  and  mother,  sons 
and  daughters,  and  if  there  was  likely  to  be  still  a  spare 
seat,  word  was  sent,  last  evening,  to  the  neighbor  who 
owns  no  carriage,  that  “  Susan  can  ride  over  to  the 
meeting  with  our  folks  to-morrow  just  as  well  as  not.” 
That  is  the  Christian  way  to  do  things.  Would  Paul 
have  rode  to- meeting  with  an  empty  seat  in  his  carriage 
if  he  had  possessed  one,  while  pooler  neighbors  wished 
to  go,  but  could  not  for  want  of  conveyance  ?  I  doubt 
it.  I  am  sure  I  would  not,  and  I  reckon  myself  not 
half  as  good  as  Paul.  T’  e  favor  of  a  ride  to  meeting 
in  a  nice  cushioned  carriage  would  be,  to  many  a  poor 
boy  or  girl,  a  more  promising  means  of  grace  with  the 
gift  of  one  tract,  than  a  dozen  tracts  without  the  ride. 
Reader,  will  you  think  of  that  ?  But  the  carriages  are 
empty  and  the  church  is  full. 

At  these  meetings  I  have  often  seen  the  church  well 
filled  during  the  first  hour.  The  meeting  is  called  to 
order,  prayer  is  offered,  and  committees  immediately 
appointed  to  fix  the  place  for  the  next  meeting,  and  to 
report  during  the  session  a  speaker  or  essayist  for  the 
same.  The  next  business  in  order  is  usually  reports  of 
the  state  of  the  cause  in  the  several  towns  embraced  in 
the  society. 

«  Will  some  friend  report  the  state  of  the  cause  in  the 

town  of  H - ,”  asks  the  President,  and  Mr.  E.  D. 

responds.  Next  we  get  a  report  from  F  ,  and  so  on 
through  the  list.  At  precisely  12  the  meeting  is  ad¬ 
journed  to  half-past  one— sometimes  for  even  a  shorter 


THE  LUNCH. 


271 


period.  A  d’nner  has  been  prepared  by  the  ladies  of  the 
town,  and  is  now  ready  in  the  vestry,  town-hall,  or  other 
building  conveniently  near,  and  all  are  invited. 

The  bounty  of  the  Heavenly  Father  is  suitably  acknowl¬ 
edged  at  table,  and  his  blessing  sought,  after  which  all 
“  fall  to”  with  an  appetite  sharpened  by  the  morning’s 
ride.  No  ostentatious  parade  of  regular  courses,  and 
dishes  with  unpronounceable  names  is  here,  but  a  sub¬ 
stantial  lunch,  which,  seasoned  with  cheerful  conversa¬ 
tion,  and  sometimes  with  mirth-provoking  ,  pleasantries, 
is  heartily  enjoyed  by  a  happy  company.  Many  of  these 
friends  have  not  met  since  the  last  quarterly,  and  may 
not  meet  again  until  the  return  of  a  similar  occasion 
three  months  hence,  for  the  people  of  Massachusetts  are 
a  very  busy  people.  They  rise  earlier,  work  later,  and 
mov^  more  rapidly,  and  in  fact  turn  off  more  work  than 
any  other  people  I  have  ever  met  with ;  and  that  is 
equally  true  of  operatives  in  the  house,  the  work-shop, 
and  the  field.  No  easy,  amiable  laggard  can  keep  step 
with  those  around  him  in  the  old  Bay  State,  or  be  held, 
there,  in  high  estimation. 

But  the  lunch  has  been  attended  to,  and  a  few  strokes 
of  the  bell  inform  us  that  the  moment  for  reassembling 
has  come. 

The  committees  appointed  in  the  morning  now  report. 
The  place  for  the  next  meeting  is  announced,  and  the 
name  of  the  individual  who  is  to  deliver  the  address,  or 
read  an  essay  then  and  there,  is  announced,  and  now  it 
is  two  o’clock. 

The  lecture  for  this  occasion,  which  its  author  has  had 
three  full  months  in  which  to  prepare,  is  next  in  order, 
and  is  listened  to  with  profound  and  critical  attention, 


272 


A  GOOD  TIME. 


and  at  its  conclusion  its  doctrines  and  practical  sugges¬ 
tions  are  made  for  a  brief  period,  subjects  of  discussion. 
Any  unfinished  business  is  now  attended  to ;  an  appro¬ 
priate  song,  perhaps  written  for  this  special  occasion,  is 
now  sung  ;  a  concluding  prayer  is  offered,  and  the  Chris¬ 
tian  doxology  gives  fitting  close  to  the  exercises.  It 
has  been  a  pleasant  occasion.  No  needless  formalities 
have  occupied  one  moment’s  time. 

The  great  question  of  the  continuance  or  removal  of 
the  scourge,  burden,  and  curse  of  intemperance  has  been 
brought  fairly  before  the  minds  of  all  present,  in  its 
causes,  influences,  and  results,  and  so  have  the  needful 
measures  for  its  extirpation.  Friends  from  each  town 
have  learned  the  condition  of  things  in  every  other  town 
within  the  limits  of  the  society,  and  when  in  the  trans¬ 
action  of  business  the  friends  in  town  A  shall  visit^own 
B,  they  will  have  a  sharp  look  out  for  violations  of  the 
prohibitory  law,  and  if  reliable  evidence  of  such  viola¬ 
tion  is  obtained,  they  will  communicate  the  facts  to  their 
brethren  in  B,  and  the  violater  of  law  will  be  visited 
with  its  penalties.  Another  excellent  feature  of  the 
meeting  has  been  the  attendance  of  many  citizens  of  the 
town  where  it  was  held  who  have  not  heretofore  taken 
that  active  part  in  the  work  of  reform  they  should  have 
done.  They  have  been  favorably  impressed  by  the 
orderly  and  sensible  character  of  the  proceedings,  and 
their  own  unfaithfulness  has  been  rebuked  in  a  quiet 
and  inoffensive  way  while  they  have  witnessed  the  zeal 
and  devotion  to  a  good  cause  of  their  neighbors  and 
those  excellent  and  influential  citizens  from  adjacent 
towns.  The  social  feature  of  this  “  quarterly”  is  "by  no 
means  an  unimportant  one,  though  it  has  not  at  all  liin- 


THE  LESSON  OF  IT. 


273 


dered  the  business  of  the  meeting.  There  have  been 
pleasant  greetings  among  old  friends  in  the  luncli-room, 
and  the  young  men  and  maidens  have  had  a  favorable 
opportunity  during  the  intermission  for  a  little  agreeable 
chat.  New  acquaintances  have  been  formed  which  may 
ripen  into  lasting - friendships  perhaps,  and  invita¬ 

tions  exchanged  for  future  meetings  at  periods  less 
distant  than  the  next  quarterly.  Best  of  all,  the  young 
of  both  sexes  have  been  instructed  in  relation  to  their 
dangers  and  their  duties.  Reader,  do  you  think  that 
young  persons  who  accompany  their  parents  to  such 
gatherings  two  or  three  times  a  year  at  least,  from  the 
age  say  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  until  they  attain  their 
majority,  will  be  as  likely  to  become  the  future  victims 
of  intemperance,  as  those  who  are  taken  by  their  parents 
to  the  Lyceum  hall,  the  opera,  and  the  social  party,  but 
never  to  a  temperance  meeting  ?  Those  quarterly  meet¬ 
ings  have  been  regularly  held  in  different  sections  of 
Worcester  county  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  I  learn 
from  the  temperance  journals  of  the  state  that  similar 
societies  have  been  established  in  other  counties. 
Whether  they  have  elsewhere  become  as  popular  and 
influential  as  in  Worcester  county,  I  am  not  informed, 
but  I  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not.  Suffolk  county, 
on  Long  Island,  has  been  blessed,  I  am  told,  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  with  an  organization  of  kindred  char¬ 
acter,  though  that,  I  believe,  embraces  the  entire  county. 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  the  description  of  this 
mode  of  operation,  that  friends  of  the  cause  in  other 
portions  of  the  country  may  know  exactly  how  to  copy 
one  of  the  most  effective  methods  for  advancing  the 
cause  and  giving  to  it  a  desirable  stability  that  I  have 


274 


VISITS  THE  BRETHREN. 


ever  become  acquainted  with.  Where  such  a  system  is 
adopted,  it  does  not  of  course  obviate  the  necessity  for 
local  temperance  societidb  holding  their  meetings  more 
frequently,  and  taking  measures  for  the  recovery  of  in¬ 
temperate  individuals,  the  relief  of  suffering  families, 
and  the  instruction  and  pledging  of  the  young,  which 
no  organization,  like  the  one  described,  could  possibly 
attend  to. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  year  1S46,  I  labored  in 
Massachusetts.  In  the  month  of  August,  I  attended  the 
animal  meeting  oi  the  Maine  Temperance  Union,  at 
Augusta,  the  capital,  and  had  the  pleasure  there  of 
making  the  acquaintance  of  many  of  those  excellent 
and  sturdy  reformers,  whose  persevering  labors,  during 
many  years,  have  helped  to  place  the  state  of  Maine  in 
the  enviable  position  it  now  occupies  in  connection 
with  the  temperance  reform. 

While  there,  I  was  invited  to  read  or  recite  at  one  of 
the  public  meetings  held  during  the  session  of  the  State 
Union,  a  poem  which  I  had  written  for  a  special  occa¬ 
sion  and  read  in  Tremont  Temple,  and  afterwards,  on 
the  invitation  of  members  of  the  Massachusetts  Legis¬ 
lature,  in  the  State  House,  Boston.  I  complied  with 
the  request  of  my  brethren  at  Augusta,  and  was  made 
glad  by  the  assurance  of  many  friends  that  the  exercise 
had  added  interest  to  the  occasion. 

On  my  return  trip  to  Boston,  by  boat,  and  while 
steaming  down  the  Kennebec,  I  was  pressed  to  repeat 
the  reading  of  the  poem  there  for  the  gratification  of 
my  fellow  passengers,  and  finding  it  always  difficult  to 
say  no,  when'  assured  that  I  can  in  any  legitimate  way 


FUGITIVE  PIECES  IN  VERSE. 


275 


contribute  to  tlie  enjoyment  of  those  around  me,  I  com¬ 
plied  with  the  request. 

The  poem  was  of  considerable  length.  Its  proper  re¬ 
cital  before  an  audience  requiring  nearly  if  not  quite 
half  an  hour.  On  the  score  of  merit,  its  entire  repub¬ 
lication,  in  this  connection,  would  hardly  be  warranted. 
The  following  extracts  will  give  the  reader  a  tolerable 
idea  of  its  general  character : 

FUGITIVE  PIECES  IN  VERSE. 

• 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

An  aged  mother,  in  her  fierce  despair, 

Scatters  the  tresses  of  her  silver  hair, 

Frantic,  rebels  against  the  biting  rod, 

And  spurns  the  comfort  of  the  man  of  God. 

"Would  you  what  caused  the  desolation  know, 

That  wearies  echo  with  its  voice  of  woe  ? 

’Tis  not  that  yonder  gibbet  rears  on  high 
Its  black,  grim  outline  sharp  against  the  sky; 

’Tis  not  that  on  that  plank  her  first-born  stands, 

Ilis  brother’s  blood  scarce  dried  upon  his  hands ; 

The  cause  lies  farther — where  that  crime  was  brewed, 

In  a  shop  “  licensed  for  the  public  good  ’ ! 

"Where  murder,  arson,  rape,  are  brought  to  pass, 

With  hell-broth  vended  at  three  cents  a  glass. 

And  thus  her  hands  that  childless  widow  wrings, 

And  thus  that  fratricidal  felon  swings, 

While  the  accessory  before  the  fact 
Goes  free,  in  goods  and  character  intact. 

Look  on  yon  alms-house,  where  from  day  to  day 
The  grave  seems  cheated  of  its  lawful  prey ; 

Mark  well  those  squalid  paupers,  and  declare 
What  brought  nineteen  in  twenty  of  them  there. 

Could  but  the  truth  upon  the  canvas  glow,. 


FUGITIVE  PIECES  IN  VERSE. 


The  force  of  fancy  could  no  farther  go. 

Ghast  Atrophy  should  gather  up  his  shroud, 

And  lialf-choked  Asthma  wheeze  his  wrongs  aloud ; 
There  pale  Consumption  by  your  side  should  stand, 
And  tottering  Palsy  point  with  trembling  hand ; 
Fierce  Frenzy’s  haggard  eye  with  fury  glare, 

While  Cholera  should  poison  all  the  air. 

All  these,  and  more,  with  Babel-like  acclaims, 
Should  cry  to  God  and  man  their  authors’  names. 
And  thus  this  scourge  holds  on  its  noisome  way, 

To  sicken,  madden,  poison,  wound,  and  slay. 

Ay,  thus  it  ever  has  gone  on,  and  still, 

Till  we  apply  the  remedy,  it  ^yill ; 

Till  our  New  England  be  with  graves  o’er  spread, 
One  vast,  continuous  city  of  the  dead; 

And  we  might  build  a  pyramid  of  bones 
As  high  as  Cheops’,  instead  of  stones. 

O  for  the  potent  rod  in  Moses’  hand, 

To  bid  this  plague  depart  from  out  our  land; 

A  plague  more  pitiless  than  Egypt  knew, 

It  smites  o’ur  first-born  and  our  youngest  too. 

But  why  invoke  the  prophet’s  wand  of  power? 

It  lies  within  our  reach  this  very  hour. 

Law,  law ’s  the  rod  we  at  this  crisis  need ; 

The  courage,  not  the  strength,  we  lack,  indeed; 

Our  hands  command  the  thong,  but  hardly  dare 
To  lay  it  on.  O,  cowards  that  we  are  ! 

We  pause  and  hesitate,  when  one  more  blow 
Might  end  the  contest  with  our  common  foe. 

'X'  'X'  -O'  sic 

v|v  * 

Meanwhile  rum-sellers,  with  exultant  voice, 

In  their  short  respite  from  their  doom  rejoice ; 

Ply  with  increasing  zeal  the  work  of  death, 

Nor  pause  to  let  humanity  take  breath. 

Shout,  drunkard-makers,  while  ye  may — your  sport 
Is  nigh  its  close ;  root,  swine !  your  time  is  short, 


FUGITIVE  PIECES  IN  VERSE. 


277 


Though  longer  than  we  hoped,  or  ye  had  feared  ; 

A  few  brief  months  shall  bring  you  your  reward ; 

And  that  ye  may  not  chide  us  for  delay, 

We’ll  count  you  interest  to  the  reckoning  day. 

Your  dues  shall  yet  be  paid,  all  at  a  dash, 

In  fines,  and  costs,  and  iron  window  sash. 

How  will  they  sputter,  scold,  blaspheme,  and  swear, 

To  find  themselves  accounted  what  they  are ! 

When  justice,  long  outraged,  shall  ply  her  thong 
On  shoulders  which  have  been  unwhipped  too  long. 
Methinks  I  hear  their  voice  of  wail  and  woe, 

Falling  on  my  prophetic  ear-drum  now. 

u  Alack  !  alas !  and  well-a-day  !  in  vain  did  lawyers  plead ; 

Our  last  appeal  has  surely  failed  !  there  is  a  God  indeed ; 

I’ve  doubted  it  this  many  a  day,  but  now;  perforce,  I  see 
There  is  a  Judge  who  can’t  be  reached  with  any  kind  of  fee. 

“  So  many  channels  stopped,  it  is  a  sorry  sight  to  see, 

Through  which  my  rum  flowed  constant  out,  and  gain  flowed  in  to 
me ; 

Where  are  the  rights  our  fathers  fought  for  ?  and  pray  tell  me  where 
Our  liberties  are  fled !  O,  this  is  more  than  I  can  bear. 

“  Ye  sympathizing  sextons,  and  ye  undertakers  too, 

The  ruin  that  descends  on  me  is  most  as  hard  on  you ; 

Ye  doctors,  and  ye  constables,  come  join  with  me  and  weep; 

1  Othello’s  occupation’s  gone,’  and  we  may  go  to - sleep. 

“  Behind  the  bar  shall  I,  alas !  no  longer  cut  a  swell, 

The  ragged  drunkard’s  patron  saint,  the  loafer’s  oracle  ? 

And  must  I,  ere  my  fortune’s  made,  in  my  vocation  stop  ? 

And  must  I  take  to  honesty  ?  and  must  I  shut  up  shop  ? 

“  Ah,  woe  is  me !  my  customers  will  learn  to  drop  their  coin 
And  pawn  their  coats  in  other  shops,  in  other  tills  than  mine, 


278 


FUGITIVE  PIECES  IN  VERSE. 


For  bread,  or  such  like  useless  stuff,  but  never  more  will  see 
One  drop  of  comfort,  such  as  they  were  wont  to  get  from  me. 

“  And  must  I  go,  indeed,  to  work  ?  I  cannot,  cannot  do  it ; 

I  doubt  if  stern  necessity  can  ever  bring  me  to  it. 

Does  Satan,  whom  I’ve  served  so  long,  now  leave  me  in  the  lurch  ? 
At  least,  I’ll  be  revenged  on  him — I’ll  go  and  join  the  church. 

“  When  troubles  thronged  on  every  side,  we,  as  a  last  resort, 

Had  turned  our  eyes,  with  grief  inflamed,  up  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
But  gone,  alas  !  are  all  our  hopes ;  that  sun  went  down  at  noon ; 
Curse  on  those  judges’  judgment,  they  have  blown  us  to  the  moon. 

“  Well,  turn  about,  since  Adam’s  time,  was  ever  held  fair  play, 

And  ’tis  a  proverb,  old  and  true,  each  dog  must  have  his  day ; 

And  there’s  one  comfort  left  tor  us,  as  law  and  gospel  true, 

That  we’ve  had  ours,  each  dog  of  us — a  pretty  long  one  too. 

“  And  if  hard  work  should  prove  too  hard  for  unaccustomed  paws, 
And  should  the  law  break  us,  who  long  were  used  to  break  the  laws, 
We  still  can  steal;  the  sin,  and  shame,  and  risk  cannot  be  more, 

In  secret  theft,  than  in  the  work  done  openly  before. 

“  My  curse,  a  hot  and  blasting  curse,  on  every  temperance  man , 

On  Beecher,  Edwards,  Hawkins,  Grant,  and  all  the  accursed  clan. 
A  special  curse  is  richly  due  that  rhyming,  ranting  Jewett; 
Powerless  himself  to  work  us  harm,  he  urged  the  rest  to  do  it.” 

But  rising  high  above  this  cry  and  hue, 

Hark  to  the  shout  that  rends  the  concave  blue  1 
The  shout  exulting  multitudes  employ ! 

The  shout  of  millions  in  triumphant  joy ! 

Hear  the  poor  drunkard,  ragged,  sick,  and  sore, 

Thanking  his  God  that  grog-shops  are  no  more. 

And  hear  that,  wife  express  her  joy  of  soul 
That  none  shall  dare  henceforth  to  fill  the  bowl 
For  her  poor,  thoughtless  husband.  Far  away 
Her  night  of  sorrow  flies ;  she  greets  the  day. 


TROUBLE  IN  THE  CAMP. 


283 


me  by  that  excellent  friend  of  the  cause  and  faithful 
officer,  S.  W.  Hodges,  of  Boston. 

The  order,  it  will  be  observed,  was  confined,  as  yet, 
to  the  cities.  The  rural  districts  were  without  any 
forms  of  association  which  would  be  likely  to  conflict 
with  any  general  plan  of  operation  the  state  might  adopt. 
All  the  essential  features  of  the  plan  adopted  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  in  1840,  were  adopted  by  the  New  Hampshire 
State  Society.  For  a  detailed  description  of  it,  see  chap. 
IX,  from  pages  124  to  130. 

The  “  Temperance  Banner,”  a  monthly  paper,  was 
started  at  Concord  as  the  organ  of  the  society,  and  at¬ 
tained  a  circulation,  in  eight  months,  of  over  terr  thou¬ 
sand  subscribers.  A  list  of  state  members  had  been 
secured,  paying  to  its  treasury  one  dollar  each  annually, 
sufficient  in  number  to  sustain  handsomely  two  agents 
in  the  field,  Thomas  D.  Bonner,  a  zealous  and  effective 
laborer,  and  myself,  and  our  publications. 

I  had  hoped  by  the  close  of  the  first  year  to  have 
reached  a  paying  membership  of  at  least  three  thousand, 
with  a  circulation  of  our  paper  of  not  less  than  fifteen 
thousand.  I  think  we  should  have  reached  that  had  our 
measures  been  carried  forward  without  serious  interrup¬ 
tion. 

Once  more  I  was  happy  in  my  work.  I  saw  a  syste¬ 
matic  movement  in  which  all  could  engage  gaining 
strength  and  numbers  day  by  day,  and  destined,  as  I 
hoped,  to  accumulate  a  power  that  would,  at  no  distant 
date,  crush  the  hated  system  upon  which  we  were  war¬ 
ring,  to  the  joy  of  many  thousands  of  suffering  ones, 
and  to  the  certain  advantage  of  all  the  substantial  in¬ 
terests  of  society. 


284 


TROUBLE  IN  TIIE  CAMP. 


But  again  our  plans  were  thwarted  through  the  malign 
influence  of  one  member  of  the  Executive  Board.  He 
had  a  passion  for  managing  all  affairs  with  which  he 
was  allowed  to  have  any  connection,  and  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  movement  or  enterprise  has  ever  yet  been  dis¬ 
covered  having  sufficient  vitality  about  it  to  endure  his 
management  for  six  months. 

He  was  a  man  of  ability,  a  ready  and  forcible  writer, 
a  tolerable  speaker — plausible,  even  wdiile  arguing  in 
favor  of  the  wildest  projects,  and  often  ingenious  in  his 
efforts  to  secure  the  adoption  of  his  measures.  He  was, 
no  doubt,  an  earnest  friend  of  temperance,  but  beyond 
personal  efforts  in  favor  of  the  unfortunate  victims  of 
intemperance,  which  he  has  often  put  forth,  with  a  zeal 
which  ought  to  have  shamed  many  of  those  around  him 
more  fortunately  constituted,  his  friendship  has  never 
been  useful  to  the  cause. 

Anticipating  only  disaster  to  the  State  Society  and  the 
cause  from  the  adoption  of  measures  which  he  was  con¬ 
stantly  planning  with  an  industry  very  remarkable,  I 
opposed  the  adoption  of  his  plans  by  the  Executive 
Board,  for  the  most  part  successfully.  Naturally  enough, 
I  became  an  object  of  aversion  to  him.  He  deliberately 
attempted  to  destroy  my  reputation  for  integrity  and 
fidelity  to  the  cause,  by  a  system  of  measures  which  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  characterize  or  describe.  His  at¬ 
tacks  upon  me  were  of  such  a  nature  as,  if  not  fatal  to 
me,  would  surely  be  so. to  himself.  But  few  words  are 
needed  to  record  the  result. 

At  the  next  annual  meeting,  which  was  held  in  Man¬ 
chester,  a  resolution  was  passed  after  a  full  discussion 
of  the  subject,  expressing  unabated  confidence  in  the 


A  MISTAKE. 


285 


individual  he  had  assailed,  and  in  the  list  of  officers  for 
the  year  1848  his  name  did  not  appear.  His  hostility 
and  the  measures  he  had  planned  to  destroy  my  influ¬ 
ence,  had  fully  developed  themselves  by  the  month  of 
August,  and  as  there  was  no  provision  in  the  constitu¬ 
tion  by  which  a  member  of  the  Executive  Board  could 
be  removed  until  the  annual  meeting  in  January  follow¬ 
ing,  I  resigned  my  agency  in  September,  as  I  felt  that  I 
could  not  without  a  sacrifice  of  self-respect  continue  to 
labor  under  the  direction  of  a  Board  of  which  my  as¬ 
sailant  was  a  member,  and  for  other  reasons  which  will 
become  apparent  as  I  proceed  in  the  narration  of  the 
facts. 

The  resignation  of  my  agency  was  a  serious  error, 
which  I  have  ever  since  regretted.  I  should  have  re¬ 
mained  at  my  post  and  kept  right  on  with  my  work,  but 
I  was  disheartened  by  these  blows  from  a  professed 
friend,  and  though  conscious  of  entire  rectitude  in  the 
discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  was  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  the  attacks  upon  me  had  been  so  persistent, 
and  withal  made  with  so  much  cunning,  that  they  must 
have  impaired  my  influence  in  the  state,  and  I  thought 
it  might  be  better  for  the  society  for  some  other  laborer 
to  take  my  place.  I  was  convinced  of  my  mistake  at  the 
annual  meeting,  but  it  was  then  too  late  to  repair  the 
mischief  already  done  by  the  too  hasty  resignation  of  my 
agency.  I  could  not  properly  record  the  events  of  this 
year  without  reference  to  this  unfortunate  affair,  but 
have  purposely  made  the  narrative  as  brief  as  possi¬ 
ble.  I  have  also  withheld  the  name  of  my  assailant  out 
of  regard,  to  the  feelings  of  his  family,  and  the  added 
fact  that  with  all  his  errors,  and  they  were  many  and 
grievous,  I  believe  him  to  be  at  heart  a  real  friend  to 


286 


COL.  MILLER. 


the  cause  of  temperance.  God  forgive  the  man  for  the 
wrong  he  purposed  and  sought  to  inflict  upon  me,  and 
the  greater  wrong  in  hindering  the  progress  of  a  blessed 
enterprise,  on  the  success  of  which  hang  the  hopes  of 
suffering  thousands. 

A  pleasant  incident  may  relieve  somewhat  the  somber 
character  of  the  narrative  just  given. 

The  attacks  made  on  the  agent,  and  the  character  and 
animus  of  the  attacking  party,  as  well  as  the  manner  in 
which  both  had  discharged  their  official  duties,  were 
subjects  of  animated  discussion  at  the  annual  meeting. 
As  the  result,  the  resolution  already  referred  to  was 
passed,  affirming  the  unabated  confidence  of  the  society 
in  the  integrity  and  official  faithfulness  of  their  former 
agent,  who,  though  no  longer  agent,  had  felt  it  a  duty 
to  himself  and  all  concerned,  to  be  present  where  all 
these  matters  would  be  discussed  and  passed  upon  by 
the  representatives  of  the  cause  from  all  parts  of  the 
state. 

The  dropping  of  the  name  of  my  assailant  from  the 
Executive  Board  and  the  passage  of  the  resolution  re¬ 
ferred  to,  though  a  severe  condemnation  of  his  past 
course,  did  not  seem  to  me  to  be  discharging  fully  the 
duty  of  the  society  to  itself.  I  urged  a  resolution  of  ex¬ 
pulsion.  Just  at  this  juncture  a  very  queer  speech  from 
a  very  eccentric  man  produced  a  universal  roar  of  laugh¬ 
ter,  and  terminated  the  discussion  of  the  subject. 

The  speaker  referred  to  was  one  Col.  Miller,  a  long, 
lank,  loose  jointed,  and  awkward  individual,  so  comical  in 
all  his  movements  that  when  he  rose  to  speak,  the  facial 
and  intercostal  muscles  of  the  hearers  at  once  put  them¬ 
selves  in  condition  for  a  laugh  before  the  man  could 
open  his  huge  mouth,* the  largest,  I  am  sure,  I  have  ever 


A  LARGE  MOUTH. 


287  * 

seen  upon  man.  When  it  was  fairly  opened  one  could 
not  help  speculating  a  little  as  to  how  slight  an  addition 
to  the  opening  on  either  side  would  be  needful  to  render 
the  upper  portion  of  the  head  and  face  an  island.  He 
rose  to  address  the  assembly,  and  was  requested  to  come 
forward  to  the  platform.  He  did  so,  and  turning  his 
face  for  some  cause  toward  the  left  he  began  to  speak, 
when  some  one  on  his  right  exclaimed,  “  Will  the  gen¬ 
tleman  allow  those  on  this  side  the  house  to  hear  some 
portion  of  his  remarks?”  Instantly  he  gave  a  comical 
twist  to  his  huge  frame,  and  with  an  expression  on  his 
countenance  of  blank  astonishment,  remarked  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “  Why,  Mr.  President,  that  is  a  most  extra-or-di- 
nary  request.  I  had  supposed  that,  let  me  turn  my  face 
whichever  way  I  might,  my  mouth  would  open  to  any 
part  of  the  house.”  When  the  roar  which  that  remark 
excited  had  ceased,  he  proceeded  thus :  “  Mr.  President, 

I  hope  that  Doctor  Jewett  will  not  press  his  resolution 
for  the  expulsion  of  the  offending  member.  I  think,  sir, 
that  this  body  has  sufficiently  expressed  its  opinion  of 
that  gentleman  and  his  course  by  action  already  taken. 
Any  thing  further  would  seem  to  me  quite  superfluous. 
Why,  Doctor,”  turning  his  face  toward  me,  “  do  you 
suppose  that  those  lying  critters,  Annanias  and  Saphira, 
who  fell  down  dead  at  the  feet  of  the  Apostles,  would 
have  felt  any  worse  after  their  fall  if  thunder  and  light¬ 
ning  had  struck  ’em?” 

When  the  laugh  which  that  sally  occasioned  had  sub¬ 
sided,  I  rose  and  withdrew  the  resolution,  the  matter 
was  dropped,  and  the  attention  of  the  great  assembly 
was  directed  to  other  matters. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Moving — Guerrilla  Warfare — Almost  discouraged  —  Retreating — 
Arrested  and  sent  to  tlie  front — One  thousand  dollars — Getting  in¬ 
to  type — Front  to  Front — We  rout  them — Comfortable — Visit¬ 
ing  the  Prisoners — Sham  Democracy — Republicans  unsound  and 
timid— A  glorious  opportunity — Political  action — They  beg  off — 
A  venal  press. 

After  leaving  New  Hampshire,  I  labored  in  Connecti¬ 
cut  for  a  few  months,  with  but  indifferent  success.  Sys¬ 
tematic  effort  seemed  quite  out  of  the  question,  and  I 
came  finally  to  despair  of  it,  and  contented  myself,  as 
most  of  our  lecturers  did,  at  the  time,  with  independent 
labor  at  the  call  of  local  societies,  receiving  sometimes 
a  stipulated  reward,  and  sometimes  just  the  amount  of 
a  collection  at  the  close  of  public  services,  whether 
much  or  little.  The  income  from  such  labor,  at  that 
time,  was,  of  course,  unreliable,  and  the  labor  unsatis¬ 
factory  ;  for  if  a  good  impression  had  been  made  by  the 
lecture,  there  was  seldom  a  gathering  up  of  the  results 
by  the  circulation  of  the  pledge,  for  in  many  places,  the 
Washington  Temperance  Societies  had  been  abandoned, 
and  in  others,  the  order  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  had 
been  .established,  and  it  was  not  their  usual  custom  to 
pledge  the  people  to  abstinence,  except  so  far  as  they 
were  ready  to  join  the  order  ;  and  I,  for  one,  have  never 
felt  the  same  degree  of  freedom  to  urge  membership  in 

one  of  the  orders,  as  I  did  the  joining  of  open  societies, 

(288) 


GUERRILLA.  WARFARE. 


289 


because,  in  urging  the  pledge,  which  all  needed,  I  should 
be  urging  many  of  my  audience  to  do  what  their  con¬ 
sciences  did  not  altogether  approve,  and  a  compliance 
with  new  conditions,  aside  from  the  pledge,  which,  to 
many  of  the  best  people  in  my  audiences,  I  knew  were 
distasteful. 

In  urging  the  simple  pledge  of  total  abstinence,  I  had 
no  such  embarrassments.  It  was,  under  God,  the  anchor 
of  our  hopes,  applicable  and  needful  to  the  venerable 
statesman  or  divine,  as  well  as  to  the  children  around 
our  hearths,  or  in  the  school-room,  to  the  occasional 
drinker,  and  the  poor  besotted  drunkard. 

It  was  a  grand  and  potent  preventive  of  intemperance, 
and  it  was,  while  kept,  a  perfect  curative,  which  never 
lias  failed  and  never  will.  All  other  appliances  without 
the  pledge  and  practice  of  abstinence,  cannot  be  relied 
upon  to  prevent  or  arrest  drunkenness.  The  pledge  and 
practice  of  abstinence  alone  will  prevent  drunkenness, 
whatever  other  good  it  may  fail  to  do. 

Despairing  of  any  general  system  of  efforts  or  opera¬ 
tions,  until  years  of  comparatively  unproductive  labor 
and  a  succession  of  disappointments  and  partial  failures 
should  have  educated  my  fellow-laborers  to  sounder 
views,  and  heartily  sick  of  guerrilla  warfare,  and,  withal, 
suffering  from  ill  health,  caused  more  by  heartache  in 
view  of  the  existing  state  of  things  than  by  long  and 
laborious  service,  I  addressed  to  the  editor  of  a  temper¬ 
ance  paper  published  in  Worcester  the  following  letter : 

Hartford,  Ct.,  Nov.  21st,  1848. 

Friend  Goodrich : — 

I  have  made  lip  my  mind  fully  to  retire  from  the  field  of  labor  in 
which  I  have  been  employed  for  the  last  nine  years,  and  return  to 

Id 


290 


ARRESTED  AND  SENT  TO  THE  FRONT. 


the  practice  of  my  profession.  A  variety  of  causes  have  contrib¬ 
uted  to  confirm  me  in  the  determination  I  have  expressed. 

I  have  received  a  pressing  invitation  to  locate  in  a  very  pleasant 
town  in  New  Haven  county,  from  which  a  physician,  advanced  in 
years,  is  about  to  remove,  and  I  think  I  shall  accept  the  invitation 
Before,  however,  I  lay  down  the  teetotal  trumpet ,  and  take  up  the 
lancet  and  the  pill  box ,  I  propose  to  visit  Massachusetts  and  spend  a 
few  days  on  my  old  battle  ground  that  I  may  meet  once  more  old 
friends  with  whom  I  have  so  long  labored. 

If  in  any  of  your  good  temperance  towns,  there  are  those  who 
would  desire  to  hear  a  farewell  discourse  from  Dr.  Jewett,”  they 
will  please  direct  a  line  to  the  editor  of  the  Cataract,  Worcester, 
Mass.,  and  therein  express  their  wishes.  Yours  fraternally, 

Charles  Jewett. 

Very  many  invitations  came  in  answer  to  the  above, 
and  everywhere  the  friends  urged  me  to  reconsider  my 
purpose  of  retiring  from  public  labor. 

While  thus  engaged,  an  event  occurred  which  will  be 
understood  from  the  following  brief  editorial.  It  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  “  Cataract”  of  Feb.  15tli,  1849. 

THEY  TOOK  HIM  AT  HIS  WORD. 

At  the  conclusion  of  a  discourse,  recently  delivered  by  Dr.  Jew¬ 
ett,  at  Clintonville,  and  after  the  mass  of  the  audience  had  retired 
from  the  Hall,  a  number  of  gentlemen  took  occasion  to  express  to 
the  doctor  their  regret  that  he  was  about  to  leave  the  field  as  a  pub¬ 
lic  lecturer.  Dr.  Jewett  replied,  that  no  one  could  regret  it  more 
sincerely  than  himself,  but  that  a  necessity  seemed  laid  upon  him  to 
do  so,  as  the  experience  of  the  last  two  years  had  convinced  him 
that  his  health  would  not  endure  the  labor  of  continued  public 
speaking  through  the  summer  months,  and  that  he  could  not  secure 
subsistence  for  his  family  by  the  rewards  he  received  for  public  ser¬ 
vices  during  a  part  of  the  year.  He  added,  that,  if  he  had  been 
able  to  purchase  a  small  farm  in  the  country,  from  the  cultivation 
of  which  he  could,  during  the  summer  months,  have  secured  the 
means  of  subsistence  for  his  family,  while  he  might  have  been  re- 


ARRESTED  AND  SENT  TO  THE  FRONT. 


291 


cruiting  his  energies  for  a  winter’s  campaign,  he  would  not  have  left 
the  field.  “  Then  you  shall  not  leave  it,”  was  the  prompt  reply  of 
the  gentlemen  present.  After  Dr.  Jewett  had  left  the  place,  a  con¬ 
sultation  was  held  among  the  friends  of  the  cause,  and  they  are  put¬ 
ting  forth  efforts  to  place  $1,000  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Jewett,  which, 
with  his  present  property,  will  secure  him  “  the  little  farm,”  and 
secure  his  continued  services  in  the  cause  during  the  winter  months, 
which  constitute  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  year  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  public  instruction.  We  are  happy  to  hear  that  the  move¬ 
ment  is  meeting  a  hearty  response  from  various  quarters.  We  hope 
it  may  be  successful.  Friends  of  the  cause,  who  feel  any  interest  in 
keeping  Dr.  Jewett  still  at  work  in  the  temperance  vineyard,  will 
have  now  an  opportunity  to  manifest  it,  as  the  gentlemen  above  re¬ 
ferred  to  have  sent  circulars  to  our  strong  temperance  towns  solicit¬ 
ing  aid  in  behalf  of  the  object  they  seek  to  accomplish.  A  dollar 
each  from  a  thousand  teetotalers,  sent  to  H.  N.  Bigelow  and  S.  Har¬ 
ris  of  Clintonville,  will  do  the  business. 

The  immediate  movers  in  this  matter,  it  will  be  seen, 
were  Messrs.  II.  N.  Bigelow  and  Sidney  Harris,  both  of 
Clintonville,  Massachusetts.  As  they  were  both  gentle¬ 
men  of  wealth  and  influence,  and  of  established  reputa¬ 
tion  as  practical  and  successful  business  men,  all  who 
became  acquainted  with  the  project  had  confidence  from 
the  start  that  it  would  be  a  success.  The  prompt  and 
liberal  manner  in  which  the  friends  of  temperance  re¬ 
sponded  to  this  call,  gave  me  gratifying  evidence  of 
their  kind  regard  for  me  personally,  for  which  I  have 
ever  been  grateful. 

The  thousand  dollars  thus  placed  in  my  hands,  with 
the  little  property  I  had  saved  during  ten  years  of  labor 
as  a  public  lecturer,  enabled  me  to  purchase  a  small 
farm  in  Millbury,  Massachusetts,  where  I  continued  to 
reside  until  1854,  lecturing  about  eight  months  each 
year,  and  devoting  the  remainder  of  the  time  to  the  cul- 


292 


GETTING  INTO  TYPE. 


tivation  of  my  farm  and  to  writing  for  the  press.  Dur¬ 
ing  these  years  my  labor  as  an  advocate  of  temperance 
was  not  confined  to  Massachusetts,  nor  even  the  New 
England  states.  I  visited  not  only  all  the  Western 
states  east  of  the  Mississippi,  but  the  British  Provinces. 
Some  incidents  of  these  itinerant  labors  start  up  in  my 
memory  as  I  take  a  retrospective  glance  over  those 
years,  and  seem  to  claim  a  brief  mention  in  this  history 
of  my  life  work. 

Soon  after  my  location  in  Millbury,  I  published  a  vol¬ 
ume  of  two  hundred  pages,  with  the  following  title : 
“  Speeches,  Poems,  and  Miscellaneous  Writings  on  Sub¬ 
jects  connected  with  Temperance  and  the  Liquor  Traf¬ 
fic.”  It  contained  reports  of  six  lectures,' on  as  many 
different  phases  of  the  general  subject  of  temperance  as 
I  had  been  accustomed  to  deliver  them ;  three  as  re¬ 
ported  phonographically  by  H.  E.  Rockwell,  Esq.,  and 
the  others  from  memory.  The  titles  of  those  lectures 
only,  I  shall  here  record.  If  my  life  shall  be  prolonged, 
and  the  interest  manifested  in  my  views  of  the  subject 
may  seem  to  warrant,  I  may  republish  them,  together 
with  other  lectures  of  later  years,  embodying  more  ma¬ 
tured  views  of  the  subject,  especially  in  its  scientific 
aspects.  The  lectures  which  found  place  in  the  volume 
referred  to,  were  on  the  following  special  topics : 

“The  Law  and  Tendencies  of  Artificial  Appetites.” 

“The  Warfare  of  the  Liquor  Traffic  on  all  Use¬ 
ful  Trades  and  Occupations.” 

“Characteristics  of  Intemperance,  as  seen  in  its 
Effects  on  Communities,  States,  and  Nations.” 

“Intemperance  as  a  Vice  of  Individual  Man.” 


FRONT  TO  FRONT. 


293 


“Prospective  Results  of  the  Traffic  in  Intoxi¬ 
cating  Liquors.” 

“Means  or  Instrumentalities  for  Removing  the 
Curse  of  Intemperance.” 

These  discourses  filled  more  than  half  the  pages  of 
the  volume,  the  remaining  ones  being  occupied  by  ex¬ 
tracts  from  poems  delivered  on  public  occasions,  and 
short  articles  in  prose  and  verse,  by  which  I  had  sought 
to  give  interest  to  the  various  temperance  periodicals 
with  which  I  had  been  connected  during  the  previous 
ten  years. 

The  volume  was  kindly  received  by  my  fellow-laborers 
throughout  the  country,  and  I  have  often  been  comforted 
by  the  assurance  of  friends  that  it  had  been  of  essential 
service  to  them  in  their  studies  of  the  subject,  and  their 
labors  to  advance  the  enterprise. 

During  the  first  year  of  my  residence  in  Millbury,  and 
at  the  special  request  of  that  devoted  friend  of  the  cause, 
Deacon  Moses  Grant,  of  Boston,  I  performed  a  month’s 
service  in  the  county  of  Hampden.  It  was  the  only 
county  in  Massachusetts  in  which  the  license  system 
had  not  been  condemned  by  the  vote  of  the  people,  and 
an  effort  was  to  be  made  to  secure  there  the  election  of 
Temperance  County  Commissioners.  Three  good  men 
were  nominated  for  the  office  in  whose  integrity  and 
devotion  to  the  cause  all  could  confide,  and  the  host  of 
bad  or  deluded  men  in  the  county  were  active  in  efforts 
to  defeat  their  election,  and  thus  to  continue  in  office 
the  old  board,  who  had  dotted  the  county  all  over  with 
licensed  grog-shops,  which  they  themselves  liberally  pat¬ 
ronized,  unless  rumor  belied  them.  Both  parties  put 


294 


WE  ROUT  THEM. 


forth  all  their  strength  in  the  struggle.  I  never  worked 
harder  in  my  life,  than  during  that  month,  and  I  closed 
my  labors  there  with  an  address  to  the  people  of  Spring- 
field,  the  county  town,  on  the  evening  previous  to  the 
election.  It  was  the  eve  of  the  Sabbath,  and  there  were 
no" vacant  seats  in  the  City  Hall.  I  drew  the  attention 
of  those  before  me  to  the  extraordinary  spectacle  which 
the  county  was  exhibiting  to  the  world  just  then,  in 
licensing  a  traffic  which  it  had  been  proved  produced 
four-fifths  of  the  crimes  in  the  country,  multiplying 
criminals  to  such  an  extent  that  it  had  become  neces¬ 
sary  to  enlarge  the  county  prison,  and  while  the  street 
in  front  of  the  prison  was  obstructed  with  huge  blocks 
of  granite  to  be  wrought  into  its  extending  walls, — a 
large  portion  of  the  people  of  the  county  were  using  all 
possible  efforts  to  continue  that  destructive  traffic  in 
their  midst.  I  expressd  my  approval  of  the  enlargement 
of  their  prison,  if  licenses  must  still  be  granted,  for  the 
same  reason  that  I  would  commend  the  forethought  of 
the  farmer,  who,  while  planting  additional  acres,  put  an 
addition  to  his  corn-crib.  I  judged  from  the  manner  in 
which  that  suggestion  was  received,  that  the  people  saw 
the  point. 

The  following  morning  I  returned  to  my  home  by  the 
first  train,  as  I  was  worn  and  weary,  and  could  render 
no  assistance  at  the  polls,  having  my  residence  in  an¬ 
other  county.  Tuesday  morning  I  rode  to  Worcester, 
which  was  but  five  miles  from  my  home,  to  get  the  news 
from  Hampden  County  when  the  western  train  should 
arrive.  As  soon  as  it  reached  the  Worcester  Depot,  I 
stepped  into  the  cars  and  inqnired  if  some  gentleman 
could  give  me  a  glance  for  a  moment  at  a  Springfield 


COMFORTABLE. 


295 


morning  paper.  No  one  seemed  to  possess  a  copy,  but 
one  generous,  though  deluded  man,  divining  my  wishes, 
addressed  me  thus :  44  I  suppose,  Doctor,  you  want  news 
from  the  election  yesterday  ?”  44  You  are  right,  sir,” 

I  replied,  44  that  is  exactly  what  I  want  just  now.” 
44  Well,”  said  he,  44 1  am  not  one  of  your  cold-water  folks, 
and  I  did  all  I  could  to  defeat  them,  but  they  elected 
their  ticket  by  about  one  thousand  majority  in  the 
county.”  44  I  thank  you,  sir,”  said  I,  44  for  the  informa¬ 
tion,  and  I  thank  God  for.  the  result.” 

My  ride  home  from  Worcester  that  morning,  was  un¬ 
usually  pleasant.  The  last  county  in  Massachusetts  had 
condemned  the  wicked  and  destructive  license  system ; 
the  cause  was  onward,  and  I  rejoiced.  Deader,  do  you 
know  by  happy  personal  experience,  the  joy  that  fills 
the  soul  when  some  signal  success  is  attained  in  some 
grand  work,  in  which  one  can  have  no  personal  and  self¬ 
ish  interest,  but  which  will,  if  perfected,  certainly  and 
greatly  promote  the  public  good,  and  the  happiness  of 
all  around  you  ?  I  hope  you  have  felt  it,  but  if  not,  I 
hope  you  will  attain  to  it  while  yet  in  the  flesh,  for  you 
will  never  know  that  particular  joy,  even  in  Heaven, 
unless  you  experience  it  here. 

Another  season  of  personal  happiness,  related  some¬ 
what  to  that  already  described,  and  growing  out  of  the 
events  just  narrated,  as  the  harvest  results  from  the 
seed  sown,  was  of  a  character  impossible  to  forget.  The 
event  afforded  44  a  joy  for  memory.” 

Some  months  after  the  triumph  already  recorded,  it 
may  have  been  a  year,  I  was  advertised  to  speak  again 
in  Springfield  on  a  certain  Sabbath  evening.  Reaching 
the  city  Saturday  eve,  I  spent  the  night  and  the  Sabbath 


296 


VISITING  THE  PRISONERS. 


day  with  a  valued  friend,  a  Mr.  Ingersoll,  who  was 
deeply  interested  in  all  good  work,  temperance  of  course 
included.  On  Sab-bath  morning,  my  kind  entertainer, 
who  was  at  that  time  Paymaster  of  the  United  States 
Armory,  invited  me  to  spend  an  hour  or  two  in  the  Sab¬ 
bath  School  connected  with  the  county  jail.  He  was  its 
superintendent,  and  would,  he  said,  omit  the  usual  les¬ 
sons  of  the  day,  if  I  would  occupy  the  time  with  an 
address  to  the  prisoners.  I  consented  to  do  so,  and 
walked  with  him  to  the  prison.  Taking  our  seats  in  the 
desk  of  the  Chapel,  we  awaited  the  coming  of  the  pris¬ 
oners.  Presently  the  doors  at  the  rear  of  the  Hall 
were  opened,  and  preceded  by  one  of  the  officers,  and 
accompanied  by  others,  the  long  line  of  prisoners,  two 
by  two,  filed  into  the  room,  in  an  order  quite  military. 
When  the  congregation  was  seated  and  the  preliminary 
exercises  were  being  concluded  by  the  singing  of  a  hymn, 
and  while  my  brain  was  unusually  active  in  arranging  a 
train  of  thought  which  should  be  suitable  to  the  occa¬ 
sion,  my  friend,  the  Superintendent,  turned  to  me,  and  in 
an  undertone  remarked,  that  I  had  probably  never  ad¬ 
dressed  such  an  audience  before.  “  Oh,  yes  I  have,”  I 
replied.  “  I  have  repeatedly  addressed  the  inmates  not 
only  of  county,  but  of  State  Prisons,  where  five  times 
the  number  of  prisoners  here,  were  before  me.”  Still 
he  insisted,  and  with  a  very  peculiar  expression  of  coun¬ 
tenance,  as  he  spoke,  that  I  had  never  addressed  such  a 
congregation  before.  “  Well,  what  is  there  so  very  pe¬ 
culiar  about  this  congregation?”  tasked.  Placing  his 
mouth  close  to  my  ear  he  replied,  in  a  very  emphatic 
and  happy  whisper,  thus :  “  A  large  portion  of  the  con- 


POLITICAL  ACTION. 


303 


sure  will  be  drowned  by  the  plaudits  of  the  crowd,  and 
recreant  jurors  will  be  thus  sustained.  It  is  vain  for  us 
to  work  ourselves  into  an  impotent  rage  over  the  matter, 
afflicting  ourselves  and  those  around  us.  The  work  be¬ 
fore  us,  under  such  circumstances,  is  not  a  quarrel  with 
parties,  legislators,  or  juries,  but  a  steady,  patient,  kind, 
and  persevering  presentation  of  the  truth  to  the  minds 
of  the  people.  It  is  thus  we  have  prepared  three  states 
at  least  for  thorough  prohibition,  and  there  I  will  join 
my  brethren  in  sternly  demanding  it. 

Beside  the  championship  of  the  rum  interests  by  the 
democratic  party,  other  influences  contributed  to  prevent 
the  immediate  and  general  suppression  of  the  liquor 
traffic  in  Massachusetts,  as  demanded  by  the  voice  of  an 
overwhelming  majority  of  its  people,  prior  to  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  the  present  prohibitory  law.  The  penalties  of 

former  laws  were  for  first  and  second  offences  onlv  fines 

*/ 

and  costs ;  and  mere  money  penalties  will  never  deter 
bad  men  from  violations  of  law  by  which  large  gains  are 
secured.  Though  liquor-sellers  notoriously  dislike  to 
accompany  the  poor  deluded  victims  of  their  traffic  to 
the  jail,  they  would  still  venture  to  violate  law  where 
imprisonment  was  the  penalty  only  of  a  third  and  subse¬ 
quent  offences,  for  they  would  have  two  warnings  in  the 
shape  of  convictions,  and  if  they  chanced  to  be  con¬ 
victed  of  three  offences  at  the  same  session  of  the  court, 
and  thoughts  of  bolts  and  grated  windows  happen  to 
trouble  them,  they  could  generally  appeal  with  success 
to  the  mercy  of  the  good-natured  temperance  prosecu¬ 
tors,  and  in  answer  to  their  application  the  good-natured 
judge  would  postpone  the  passage  of  sentence  until  the 
next  session  of  the  court,  the  offender  solemnly  promis- 


804 


THEY  BEG  OFF. 


ing  meanwhile  to  obey  the  laws.  The  true  method  of 
dealing  with  these  public  poisoners,  I  shall  indicate  when 
I  come  to  consider  that  new  era  in  the  cause  created  by 
the  passage  of  the  Maine  Law. 

A  number  of  the  influential  public  journals  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  have  largely  contributed  to  prevent  the  thorough 
enforcement  of  its  laws  intended  to  cripple  the  liquor 
traffic.  That  they  have  been  enabled  to  exert  so  exten¬ 
sive  an  influence  for  evil,  is  the  fault  of  the  friends  of 
temperance  of  course  ;  for  had  they  generally  withdrawn 
their  patronage  from  such  papers,  and  left  them,  as  they 
should,  to  the  patronage  of  the  liquor  party,  whose  views 
and  claims  they  advocated,  a  diminished  circulation  and 
a  failing  income  would  soon  have  converted  their  pro¬ 
prietors  and  conductors  to  a  more  honorable  course.  As 
it  was,  a  double  motive  prompted  the  conductors  of  such 
journals  to  the  course  they  have  for  many  years  pur- 
•  sued — the  gratification  of  their  own  depraved  appetites, 
and  a  desire  for  a  liberal  portion  of  the  ill-gotten  gains 
of  liquor-sellers,  notoriously  liberal  in  their  support 
of  those  who  will  oppose  the  passage  or  enforcement  of 
prohibitory  laws.  There  are  no  more  dangerous  enemies 
of  the  civil  government,  good  morals,,  and  all  the  sub¬ 
stantial  interests  of  society,  than  able,  ingenious,  but 
venal  and  corrupt,  conductors  of  influential  public  jour¬ 
nals.  I  hardly  dare  think,  after  midday,  of  the  course 
pursued  by  some  of  the  daily  papers  of  Massachusetts 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years;  lest  the  sun  should  go 
down  on  my  wrath. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


The  Maine  Law — Reaction,  how  created — False  Witnesses — Work- 
ing  up  a  “  reaction” — A  Prophecy — Its  fulfillment — How  it  grew — 
Search  and  Seizure — Cleaned  out — A  Viper  without  fangs — Try¬ 
ing  it  on — Terrible  threats — Nobody  hurt — We  roll  them  out — 
Legs — Three  cheers  for  the  Law — Cargoes  or  Pint  Bottles  ? 
Either ! — Property — Pour  it  out. 

The  year  1851  constituted  a  new  era  in  the  tempe¬ 
rance  reform,  for  it  gave  us  the  Maine  Law.  Its  enact¬ 
ment  was  the  first  attempt  to  crush  entirely ,  by  statute 
law,  the  springs  and  sources  of  drunkenness,  o.r  all  traffic 
in  intoxicating  liquors  to  be  used  as  a  drink.  Its  en¬ 
forcement,  during  the  first  years  after  its  passage, 
demonstrated  its  ability  to  cope  fully  with  the  gigantic 
evil  which  before  had  broken  through  all  legal  restraints, 
as  some  strong  animal  would  break  through  a  spider’s 
web.  Former  laws  had  been  able  to  suppress  dram¬ 
shops  in  communities  where  the  public  sentiment  strong¬ 
ly  favored  such  suppression,  but  the  distiller  and  whole¬ 
sale  dealer,  the  proprietor  of  the  great  wine-store,  with 
its  elegant  array  of  bottles  of  various  hues,  and  the 
beer-bloated  brewer,  they  had  laughed  at  all  restrictive 
legislation,  and  with  their  enormous  profits  had  stood 
behind  and  encouraged  retailers  to  violate  the  laws,  had 
given  bail  tor  them  at  the  courts  when  in  trouble,  appa¬ 
rently  deeming  it  impossible  for  law  to  reach  gentlemen 

(305) 


30b 


THE  MAINE  LAW. 


of  sucli  vast  possessions  and  high  social  position.  But 
a  rod  was  in  pickle  for  those  gentlemen  of  which  they 
had  not  even  dreamed. 

A  careful  study  of  the  law  of  1838,  given  in  a  former 
chapter,  and  which  was  a  great  advance  on  all  previous 
legislation  of  the  present  century,  will  impress  the 
reader  with  the  extreme  mildness  of  its  character  as 
compared  with  the  Maine  Law,  and  the  narrow  limits 
within  which  its  powers  could  be  employed  against  the 
gigantic  system  of  injustice  and  cruelty  from  which  we 
were  suffering.  It  aimed  only  at  the  traffic  in  “  Spiritu¬ 
ous  liquors  and  mixed  liquors  a  part  of  which  were 
spirituous,”  “  in  quantities  less  than  fifteen  gallons.” 
The  Maine  Law  strikes  at  the  whole  tribe  of  liquid  in¬ 
toxicants  in  all  their  varieties  and  in  all  quantities  ;  and 
while  forbidding  the  traffic  therein,  forbids  also  the  manu¬ 
facture,  and  arrests  the  destructive  agent  in  transitu.  Its 
most  effective  feature  and  that  which  exhibits  most  the 
thorough  knowledge  and  sagacity  of  its  author,  is  just 
the  one  which  our  mere  theorist  and  would-be  Solons 
find  most  fault  with,  the  “  Search  and  Seizure  clause.” 
No  one  can  properly  estimate  the  value  of  that  provision 
of  the  law,  who  has  not  seen  and  compared  its  practical 
working  with  that  of  other  statutes  which  lack  it. 

Very  much  is  said  of  the  reaction  which  the  stern  and 
impartial  enforcement  of  prohibitory  statutes  occasions 
in  communities  where  the  experiment  is  tried,  and  thou¬ 
sands  who  are  profoundly  impressed  with  the  injustice 
and  wickedness  of  the  traffic,  and  who  clearly  see  the 
necessity  of  legal  measures  to  restrain  or  arrest  it,  are 
deterred  from  active  participation  therein,  through  fear 
that  the  wrath  of  the  sellers  or  the  drinking  fraternity 


REACTION,  HOW  CREATED — FALSE  WITNESSES.  307 

will  be  visited  upon  them  in  the  destruction  of  their 
property.  But  let  us  consider  how  that  much-dreaded 
“  reaction”  is  worked  up,  and  how  the  destruction  of 
property  results  therefrom.  Every  liquor-bar,  grog¬ 
shop,  or  saloon,  from  which  intoxicating  liquors  have 
been  retailed  for  a  few  weeks  or  months,  has  about  it  a 
regular  list  of  customers,  in  the  various  stages  of  the 
process  of  descent  from  moderate  but  regular  tippling  to 
the  consumption,  perhaps,  of  a  quart  per  day.  Among 
these  will  often  be  found  one  or  more  daring  fellows,  not 
abusive  or  criminally  disposed  when  sober,  but  ready  for 
any  kind  of  mischief  when  in  the  second,  or  criminal 
stage  of  intoxication. 

Now  let  us  suppose  such  a  liquor-seller  prosecuted  for 
selling  without  license,  and  taken  before  a  court  of  jus¬ 
tice.  His  customers  are  summoned  as  witnesses.  The 
chances  are  more  than  two  to  one,  that  the  prosecution 
will  fail  for  want  of  evidence,  although  no  one  doubts 
that  some  if  not  all  the  witnesses  have  drank  and  paid 
for  liquors  in  that  establishment  repeatedly  within  the 
last  twenty-four  hours.  Their  memories  are  very  treach¬ 
erous.  They  “  drank  something  there,  but  did  not  know 
what  it  was.”  It  is  quite  evident  to  all  present  that 
the  witness  does  not  intend  to  tell  the  truth,  lest  the 
result  should  be  that  his  friend,  as  he  regards  him  who 
furnishes  him  his  much-loved  drink,  shall  thereby  come 
to  grief.  But  let  us  suppose  that  some  of  the  witnesses 
tell  the  truth,  and  the  grog-seller  is  convicted.  He  pays 
his  fine  and  costs  it  may  be,  or  appeals  to  a  higher  c'Wirt 
and  gives  bonds  for  his  appearance  there,  and  then  what 
follows  ? 

It  is  worth  our  while  to  consider  carefully  the  answer 


303 


WORKING  UP  A  “  REACTION. 


to  that  question.  He  returns  to  his  place  of  business, 
well  stocked  with  maddening  poisons,  which  will  attract 
there  the  most  dangerous  and  reckless  men  of  that  com¬ 
munity,  and  fit  them  for  any  work  of  mischief  he  may 
suggest. 

Ambitious  to  display  their  zeal  for  the  persecuted 
saint  who  is  profiting  by  their  ruin,  each  vies  with  the 
other  in  expressing  his  hatred  of  the  law,  and  of  those 
who  have  been  concerned  in  its  enforcement.  For  such 
a  manifestation  of  sympathy  for  him,  and  indignation 
against  his  enemies,  as  all  agree  to  regard  them,  what 
return  can  he  make  so  fitting  as  a  treat  all  round  ? 
Stronger  expressions  of  their  wrath  against  the  prose¬ 
cutors  follow,  and  another  free  drink,  and  thus  the  mis¬ 
erable  satellites  of  the  liquor-seller  are  wrought  up  to  a 
perfect  frenzy  of  rage  which  the  crafty  dealer  will  em¬ 
ploy  for  the  punishment  of  complainants,  or  parties 
engaged  in  his  prosecution. 

If  the  sufferer  from  legal  penalties  be  sober  enough 
to  be  cautious,  he  will  not  directly  express  his  wish  for 
the  destruction  of  their  property,  but  will  do  it  by  hints 
and  prophetic  suggestions.  From  reports  of  reformed 
men  who,  before  the  blessed  change  in  their  habits,  were 
perfectly  familiar  with  grog-shop  operations  and  influ¬ 
ences,  we  are  quite  well  instructed  in  relation  to  the 
modes  of  procedure  in  cases  like  that  under  considera¬ 
tion.  “  I  should  not  wonder,”  says  Sir  Toddy-Stick, 
“  if  some  of  those  fellows  should  meet  with  some  acci¬ 
dent  before  long,  that  will  set  them  to  thinking.  Awful 
judgments  come  on  men  that  don’t  know  enough  to 
mind  their  own  business,  and  keep  meddling  with  the 
affairs  of  their  neighbors.  I  should  not  wonder  at  all, 


A  PROPHECY — ITS  FULFILLMENT. 


309 


if  there  should  come  a  big  thunder-storm  one  of  these 
nights,  and  lightning  should  strike  that  Sam  Jones’s 
haystacks,  or  grain-barn,  and  he  should  have  a  bonfire 
that  will  shed  considerable  light  on  matters  and  things. ” 

“  Nor  I,  either,”  responds  Bill  Guzzle,  “  and  I  shouldn’t 
wonder  if  lightnin’  should  strike  ’em  when  there  aint 
any  storm.” 

This  very  ingenious  suggestion  of  Mr.  Guzzle  calls 
forth  a  round  of  applause,  and  is  rewarded  by  another 
drink.  Bill  leaves  the  company,  and  in  half  an  hour 
the  village  is  startled  by  the  cry  of  Fire  !  Fire  ! !  and  it 
is  soon  learned  that  Mr.  Samuel  Jones  is  the  sufferer 
therefrom.  The  results  of  a  summer’s  labor  perhaps, 
melt  away  in  smoke  and  flame,  as  his  reward  for  having 
performed  his  duty  as  a  citizen  in  causing  the  laws  of 
the  State  to  be  respected  in  his  neighborhood. 

Here  now  is  the  “  reaction”  so  much  talked  of  and 
so  justly  feared  from  the  enforcement  of  laws  against 
the  sellers  of  intoxicating  liquors.  Is  it  not  apparent 
now  to  the  dullest  intellect,  that  the  producing  cause  of 
all  this  was  the  liquor  ?  That  was  the  attraction  that 
drew  the  thirsty  group  to  the  grog-shop.  That  was  the 
agent  with  which  the  liquor-seller  testified  his  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  sympathy  and  devotion  of  his  friends.  That 
was  the  article  that  muddled  the  brain,  excited  the  base 
passions,  and  paralyzed  the  moral  sense  of  Bill  Guzzle, 
and  fitted  him  for  the  work  of  the  incendiary. 

A  law  to  be  effective,  and  safely  enforced,  therefore, 
should  strike  first  of  all  at  the  stock  of  liquors  on  hand . 
Thus  reasoned  the  author  of  the  Maine  Law,  the  Hon. 
Neal  Dow,  who  is  not  the  Utopian  dreamer  and  fanatic 
that  many  have  been  taught  to  believe,  but  a  man  of 
large,  and  eminently  practical  intellect. 


310 


HOW  IT  GREW. 


No  statute  can  ever  crush  the  liquor  system,  or  be 
enforced  with  safety,  that  does  not,  like  the  Maine  Law, 
strike  first  of  all  at  the  destructive  agent.  Having 
repeatedly  aided  public  officers  in  the  search  for,  and 
seizure  of  liquors  in  Maine,  I  can  speak  from  actual 
observation,  and  strong  terms  would  be  required  to 
express  fully  my  admiration  of  that  excellent  statute. 

It  did  not  grow  up  like  a  mushroom  in  a  night,  but  is 
an  accretion  of  provisions  suggested  by  the  failures  of 
earlier  statutes.  For  many  years  its  author  had  carefully 
observed  the  practical  working  of  former  laws.  When¬ 
ever,  through  the  aid  of  ingenious  counsel,  a  notorious 
violator  escaped  justice  through  some  defect  therein,  a 
note  was  made  of  the  fact,  and  thrust  into  a  certain 
pigeon  hole  in  the  secretary  of  Neal  Dow,  for  future 
use.  These  suggestions  accumulated,  and  when  that 
gentleman  sat  down  to  draft  that  world-renowned  statute, 
these  practical  points  were  all  considered  and  provided 
for.  Hence  the  perfection  of  the  law,  and  its  wonderful 
efficiency  where  a  public  sentiment  has  been  formed 
which  demands  the  extinction  of  the  traffic. 

Many  honest,  but  ill  informed  men  who  were  yet  in 
favor  of  prohibition,  have  told  me  that  they  were  heartily 
in  favor  of  the  Maine  Law  except  that  44  search  and 
seizure”  clause.  They  had,  by  the  clamor  of  interested 
parties,  been  led  to  believe  that  that  provision  authorized 
an  unwarrantable  encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  the 
citizen,  just  as  though  the  domicil  had  not  for  centuries 
been  subject  to  search,  and  unlawful  possessions  to 
seizure,  wherever  the  demands  of  justice  imperatively 
required  it.  Good-natured  friends  of  good  causes  arc 
quite  too  apt  to  be  influenced  by  mere  clamor,  and  to 


SEARCH  AND  SEIZURE. 


311 


pause  in  their  work  at  a  critical  moment,  thus  giving 
our  opponents  a  decided  advantage,  when  duty  to  all 
concerned  requires  them  to  move  steadily  forward  and 
“  let  the  music  play.” 

It  ought  to  suffice  for  all  to  know  that  every  provision 
of  the  Maine  Law  has  undergone  the  searching  scrutiny 
of  some  of  the  best  legal  minds  of  our  country,  of  many 
of  our  most  renowned  judges,  and  received  their  unqual¬ 
ified  sanction. 

But  to  return  to  its  practical  working  and  the  safety 
of  its  enforcement  as  compared  with  other  forms  of  law 
intended  to  restrain  or  suppress  the  traffic.  The  “  search 
and  seizure”  clause  should  be  employed,  in  my  judgment, 
in  all  cases  to  which  it  is  adapted,  and  there  are  few 
cases  to  which  it  is  not.  As  we  have  already  seen,  an 
unlicensed  seller  of  liquors,  convicted  and  punished  by 
fine  and  costs,  leaves  the  court-robm,  and  returns  to  his 
place  of  business  well  stocked  with  liquors,  very  dan¬ 
gerous  articles  in  the  hands  of  a  bad  man ;  for  by  their 
use  he  can  prepare  his  pliant  and  obsequious  tools  for 
any  service,  however  perilous  to  them,  or  destructive  to 
the  interests  of  society. 

But  suppose  we  obtain  a  legal  warrant  for  the  search 
of  the  premises  of  Mr.  Heartless,  and  the  seizure  of 
liquors  “  held  with  intent  to  sell.”  The  officer  executes 
the  warrant,  finds  a  stock  of  liquors  of  various  kinds, 
seizes  the  same,  and  directs  the  truckman  or  teamster 
to  convey  them  to  a  place  for  safe  keeping  until  the  final 
adjudication  of  the  case.  The  next  move  is  to  arrest 
the  seller  or  owner  of  the  liquors.  He  is  put  on  trial, 
and  the  possession  of  such  a  stock  of  villainous  com¬ 
pounds,  of  the  usual  measures,  with  the  decanters, 


812 


CLEANED  OUT. 


glasses,  toddy-stick,  &c.,  are  so  many  evidences  against 
him.  You  have  not  now  to  depend  on  the  uncertain 
testimony  of  his  demoralized  customers,  but  on  inani¬ 
mate  materials  which  will  not  lie  whatever  other  mis¬ 
chief  they  may  do.  There  has  been  no  gathering 
together  of  his  customers  as  witnesses.  They  were  not 
wanted. 

We  will  suppose  the  individual  convicted  and  fined. 
He  pays  his  fine  and  costs,  or  appeals  his  case  and  gives 
bonds,  and  is  then  at  liberty  to  return  to  his  home,  or 
place  of  business.  How  altered  now  is  the  state  of 
things.  His  liquors,  glasses,  toddy-sticks,  Ac.,  gone, 
the  place  empty,  and  if  not  “  swept  and  garnished,” 
desolate  enough.  He  paces  the  room  to  and  fro,  looks 
up  and  down  the  street,  and  wonders  where,  in  this  his 
time  of  trouble,  are  those  devoted  friends  who  have  so 
often  sworn  to  stand  by  him  in  every  emergency.  The 
facts  are,  that  while  he  has  deceived  his  poor  customers, 
he  has  been  himself  deceived  in  supposing  that  they 
cared  even  so  much  as  the  price  of  a  dram  of  poor 
whisky  for  him,  in  any  relation  other  than  that  of  a  dis¬ 
penser  of  liquors.  Now  he  has  no  liquors  to  dispose  of, 
and  they  know  it.  They  have  heard  probably  that  his 
entire  stock  has  been  seized  and  taken  away.  Why 
should  they  trouble  themselves  to  visit  a  place  where 
there  is  nothing  to  drink  ?  They  know  no  reason  why, 
and  it  would  be  difficult  to  frame  one.  Hitherto  when 
he  so  warmly  welcomed  them  to  his  shop,  it  was  because 
he  expected  to  profit  by  their  folly,  and  when  they  talked 
of  their  devotion  to  him,  they  meant  his  liquors  rather. 
Whence  now  is  to  come  the  dreaded  reaction  from  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  ?  A  liquor  seller  without  Lquors 


A  YIPER  WITHOUT  FANGS. 


313 


is  one  of  the  most  harmless  of  all  bad  animals.  A  vi¬ 
per  without  fangs,  a  vicious  but  toothless  mastiff,  are  his 
fitting  representatives. 

The  enforcement  of  the  Maine  Law  proper  in  the  way 
described,  has  rarely  been  followed  by  the  destruction 
of  the  property  of  complainants.  The  enforcement  of 
former  laws,  or  those  which  dealt  simply  with  the  dealer, 
but  did  not  interfere  with  his  liquors,  lias  been  followed 
by  the  destruction  not  only  of  vast  amounts  of  property, 
but  in  some  instances  by  the  loss  of  valuable  lives ;  two 
at  least,  in  the  smallest  state  in  the  Union,  Rhode 
Island. 

Soon  after  the  passage  of  the  law,  in  June,  1851,  a 
copy  was  sent  me  by  its  author,  and  my  opinion  of  the 
statute  solicited.  I  replied  promptly  that  the  traffic 
would  certainly  be  crushed  under  its  proper  enforcement, 
but  expressed  some  anxiety  lest  it  should  be  found  in 
advance  of  the  public  sentiment  of  the  state,  and  I 
urged  that  the  friends  should  at  once  redouble  their  ex¬ 
ertions  to  enlighten  the  public  mind  on  all  points  at 
issue,  and  urged  the  immediate  and  stern  enforcement 
of  the  law.  Although  I  had  intended  to  devote  the 
summer  months  to  rest  and  recuperation,  I  tendered  my 
services  in  aid  of  the  work  which  I  felt  to  be  needful  in 
the  emergency  which  the  passage  of  the  law  had  created, 
and  a  series  of  appointments  were  made  for  me,  com¬ 
mencing  on  the  Kennebec,  and  ending  with  Calais,  on 
the  eastern  border  of  the  state.  Never  did  I  engage  in 
work  with  higher  hopes  or  greater  alacrity,  and  my  ex¬ 
perience  and  observation  during  that  tour  forever  settled 
my  opinion  as  to  the  true  method  of  dealing  with  the 
liquor  traffic  in  localities  where  the  public  mind  has  been 
properly  enlightened. 

14 


314 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  SPIRITS  IN  PRISON. 


On  my  way  to  this  interesting  field  of  labor,  I  tarried 
a  day  or  two  at  Portland,  with  my  friend  Neal  Dow, 
then  Mayor  of  that  city.  The  morning  after  my  arrival 
an  incident  occurred  which  I  thought  worthy  of  record. 
After  witnessing  it,  and  enjoying  a  pleasant  stroll 
through  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  on  this  conti¬ 
nent,  I  returned  to  the  residence  of  my  friend  Dow,  and 
wrote  the  following  article,  in  which  facts  and  fancies 
somehow  got  strangely  mingled.  The  reader  will  find 
no  serious  difficulty,  I  imagine,  in  making  the  proper 
discrimination  between  them. 

A  VISIT  TO  THE  SPIRITS  IN  PRISON. 

While  walking  down  the  streets  of  Portland,  this  morning,  in 
company  with  the  very  efficient  mayor  of  that  beautiful  city,  I  was 

invited  to  step  with  him  across  the  street  and  take  a  look  at  the 

- 

imprisoned  “  spirits  ”  shut  up  in  durance  vile  beneath  the  City  Hall. 
I  accepted  the  invitation,  and  in  a  moment  found  myself  in  a  large 
basement  room,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  imprisoned  fiends, 
which,  under  the  recently  enacted  and  most  righteous  law  of  the 
state,  had  been  arrested  in  their  march  from  the  mouth  of  the  still 
to  the  mouths  of  the  wretched  men  who  had  become  already  so  far 
demonized  as  to  desire  the  further  acquaintance  and  companionship 
of  those  liquid  devils.  Three  or  four  extensive  seizures  of  the  spirits 
had  been  made,  and  here  they  were  all  gathered  in  one  group ;  and 
a  sorry-looking  group  it  was.  Their  sad  plight,  piled  on  each  other’s 
backs  around  the  apartment,  recalled  the  language  of  Hamlet  to  the 
skull  of  poor  Yorick  :  — 

“  Where  be  your  gibes  now  ?  your 
Gambols  ?  your  songs  ?  your  flashes  of  merriment 
That  were  wont  to  set  the  table  in  a  roar  ?  .  .  . 

.  .  .  Quite  chapfallen.’’ 

I  looked  upon  the  strong  oak  casks,  some  of  them  iron  bound,  and 
thought  how  fortunate  it  was  that  the  hands  of  government  had 
arrested  them  before  their  fiery  and  demonizing  contents  had  got 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  SPIRITS  IN  PRISON. 


315 


spilled  into  the  stomachs  of  some  of  its  poor  deluded  subjects. 
Long  and  ardently  I  had  desired  to  see  the  government,  in  true  pa¬ 
ternal  regard  for  its  suffering  poor,  and  for  the  thousands  who  are 
being  hurried  by  the  liquor  traffic  to  ruin,  exert  its  power  promptly 
and  effectually  to  stay  the  work  of  death.  And  here,  at  length,  I 
am  permitted  to  see  the  master  spirit  of  mischief,  the  giant  curse  of 
the  civilized  world,  chained.  A  feeling  of  exultation  was  kindled 
within  me,  which  I  have  no  words  adequately  to  express.  Aha  ! 
thought  I ;  you  who,  with  your  kindred  spirits,  have  sent  thousands 
to  the  watch-house,  to  the  jail,  and  to  the  prison ;  who  have  bolted 
the  doors  upon  thousands  of  my  brethren,  and  shut  them  out  from 
the  society  of  their  families  and  the  world,  have  gotton  into  limboes 
yourself  1  The  angel  of  justice  has  at  length  come  down,  “with  a 
great  chain  in  his  hand,”  and  bound  you.  Here  you  await  your 
trial,  and  if  condemned,  as  you  probably  will  be,  you  shall  be  led 
forth  to  execution,  amid  the  rejoicings  of  an  injured  people,  and 
your  blood  shall  flow,  not,  as  ye  hoped,  down  the  parched  throats 
of  men,  but  down  the  gutters  and  through  the  city  sewers.  Well, 
you  are  in  a  good  way.  Mother  earth  and  the  waters  of  the  bay 
can  swallow  you  and  not  reel,  and  that  is  more  than  men  could  do. 

How  long  have  you  trampled  on  laws  human  and  divine,  taken 
your  own  wild,  wicked  way,  and  gloried  in  your  might !  Ye  laughed 
at  “  restriction  ”  and  “  regulation but  stronger  words  have  been 
whispered  in  your  ears  by  the  legislature  of  Maine — “  suppression,” 
“  annihilation and  lo,  ye  pause  here  to  consider  the  import  of  the 
new  vocabulary.  Well,  ye  will  learn  it,  no  doubt,  for  ye  are  apt 
scholars.  But  how  will  your  friends  and  adherents,  not  only  in  the 
city,  but  among  the  hills,  regard  your  capture  and  detention  ? 
They  have  hitherto  gloried  in  your  strength,  and  have  asked  exult- 
ingly,  “  Who  is  like  unto  the  beast  ?  Who  is  able  to  make  war 
against  him  ?”  Maine  hath  answered  in  stern  and  decided  tone, 
and — ye  are  here  !  “  The  merchants,  of-  'those  things,  which  were 

made  rich  by  thee,  shall  stand  afar  off,  for  the  fear  of  thy  torment, 
weeping,  and  wailing,  and  crying,  Alas!  .  .  .  For  in  one  hour 

so  great  riches  have  come  to  nought.” 

What  varied  forms  have  ye  taken,  as  I  see  ye  here  in  your  prison, 
and  how  varied  your  destination  !  Here  ye  swell  out  in  great  bulk, 
like  a  corpulent,  turtle-fed  alderman,  and  there  ye  shrink  almost  to 


316 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  SPIRITS  IN  PRISON. 


the  dimensions  of  a  water  bucket.  Let  me  look  at  your  names,  and 
learn  whither  ye  were  bound.  “  American  Gin,  Parsonfield.”  And 
what  business  had  you  at  Parsonfield  ?  Did  the  parson  invite  you  to 
Visit  his  field  ?  Nay,  verily.  He  would  sooner  have  sent  you  to 
\he  Potter's  field.  But  to  Parsonfield  you  were  going ;  and  for  what  ? 
Ah,  I  remember.  There  is  a  poor  widow  in  that  neighborhood  ? 
whose  husband  ye  slew,  and  whose  eldest  son  ye  have  poisoned, 
until  the  poor  lad  totters  as  he  walks.  His  brain  is  on  fire.  He 
talks  incoherently,  and  strange  fancies  possess  him.  Sometimes  he 
curses  the  mother  who  bore  him ;  and  those  hands  which,  when  a 
child,  she  pressed  in  hers  while  she  prayed,  have  been  lifted  in  vio¬ 
lence  against  her.  She  is  almost  distracted  with  her  troubles,  and 
knoweth  not  whither  to  turn  for  relief.  Despair  has  sometimes  al¬ 
most  taken  possession  of  her  soul.  She  hateth  thee,  and  lifteth  her 
eyes,  swollen  with  weeping,  and  her  feeble  hands,  to  Heaven  against 
thee.  And  thou  wouldst  afflict  her  still  more  !  Heartless,  obdurate 
devil !  Yes,  you  were  journeying  to  Parsonfield  for  that  purpose  ; 
but  the  angel  of  justice  met  thee,  and — thou  art  here.  How  will 
that  widow  rejoice  and  sing  when  she  shall  hear  the  glad  tidings  of 
thy  fall ! 

But  let  me  look  at  thy  brother  fiend.  “  N.  E.  Rum,  W.  A., 
Bethel.”  And  what  was  thy  errand  to  Bethel?  Jacob  went  up  to 
Bethel,  and  built  there  an  altar,  because  there  the  Lord  met  him  in 
the  time  of  his  troubles.  And  you,  too,  have  built  an  altar  at 
Bethel,  whereon  thou  dost  sacrifice  to  strange  gods.  But  goats  and 
bullocks  will  not  serve  thee  for  sacrifices.  The  blood  of  our  sons, 
“  the  expectancy  and  rose  of  the  fair  state,”  is  smoking  upon  thine 
altar  at  Bethel.  But  thou  art  not  there.  Iron  bands  confine,  and 
bolts  and  bars  detain  thee.  Thine  altar  at  Bethel  will  grow  cold, 
and  the  sweet  waters  of  the  rejoicing  heavens  shall  wash  away  its 
stains.  “  Old  Madeira,  10  gallons,  Wm.  Baker,  Brunswick.”  And 
•you,  old  gentleman,  were  bound  for  Brunswick.  There  is  a  college 
at  Brunswick  ;  and  did  ye  covet  an  education  ?  “No,  ye  were  going 
to  teach,  and  not  to  be  taught.”  So  I  supposed.  A  professor  of 
infernal  mathematics  and  languages,  en  route  for  Brunswick,  to 
teach  the  young  men  big  oaths,  subtraction  from  the  pocket,  multi¬ 
plication  of  miseries,  and  reduction  descending;  ay,  and  to  add 
thereto  important  instruction  in  your  rule  of  three  direct,  to  the 


TRYING  IT  ON. 


317 


poorhouse,  the  prison,  and  the  drunkard’s  grave.  Verily,  a  rule  of 
three ,  and  as  direct  as  one  could  desire.  And  “  vou  give  instructions 
in  navigation.”  Ay,  I  have  seen  your  pupils  making  trial  of  their 
skill ;  and  it  was,  indeed,  an  interesting  exhibition  ! 

But  let  us  make  the  acquaintance  of  your  next  neighbor,  Mr.  St. 
Croix.  And  you,  sir,  were  bound  to  Freeport ,  but — did  not  get 
there.  It  was  not  a  “ port  of  entry  ”  for  you,  it  seems,  with  all  its 
freedom.  And  what  do  you  purpose  to  do  now?  “Wait  here  the 
arrival  of  your  friends  from  Boston.”  Very  well ;  we  pledge  you 
the  word  of  the  mayor  and  city  marshal,  that  your  friends  shall 
visit  you  here,  immediately  on  their  arrival.  Farewell  to  your 
devilships ;  keep  cool,  and  learn‘“  the  uses  of  affliction.” 

At  Hallowell,  no  efforts  had  been  made  to  enforce  the 
new  law  when  I  reached  the  city.  In  conference  with 
the  leading  friends  of  the  cause,  I  urged  an  immediate 
advance  upon  the  enemies’  works.  There  was  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Gilman,  who  it  was  rumored  had  recently 
received  a  supply  of  liquors  which  he  had  determined 
to  sell  in  defiance  of  law.  He  was  reputed  to  be  a  man 
of  violent  temper,  exceedingly  belligerent,  and,  withal,  a 
man  of  great  physical  power,  and  it  was  thought  he 
would  show  fight  if  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  search 
his  premises  and  seize  his  stock.  He  had  sworn  that  if 
any  man  should  enter  his  store  to  interfere  with  His 
business,  he  would  cleave  his  head  to  the  shoulders  if 
there  were  any  virtue  in  muscles  and  a  good  axe.  I 
assured  the  friends  that  he  would  never  strike  a  blow, 
if  sober,  when  the  officers  of  the  law,  with  proper  aids, 
should  visit  him.  They  thought  otherwise. 

I  volunteered  my  services  to  accompany  the  officer, 
and  aid  in  the  execution  of  a  search  warrant,  if  they 
could  find  three  citizens  who  would  make  complaint  ac¬ 
cording  to  law.  They  were  soon  found,,  and  officer 


318 


TERRIBLE  THREATS!  NOBODY  HURT. 


Smith  declared  his  readiness  to  execute  the  warrant 
An  energetic  man  by  the  name  of  Allen,  if  I  rightly 
remember,  small  of  stature  but  of  good  grit,  also  ten¬ 
dered  his  services  to  aid  the  officer.  All  needful  steps 
were  taken,  teams  provided  to  take  the  liquors  away  in 
case  any  should  be  found,  and  early  on  the  following 
morning  we  paid  the  gentleman  a  visit.  No  sooner 
were  we  seen  to  enter  the  building,  than  the  rowdies  of 
the  vicinity  at  once  divined  our  object,  and  in  less  than 
thirty  minutes  a  group  numbering  probably  an  hundred, 
had  gathered  in  front  of  the  store,  to  resist  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  law,  and  make  short  work  with  the  fanat¬ 
ics.  To  prevent  egress  from  the  store  by  the  way  we 
had  entered,  they  backed  a  horse  cart  closely  against 
the  open  door-way,  filled  it  with  loafers,  and  as  many  of 
the  rabble  as  possible  crowded  the  passage. 

Matters  began  to  look  a  little  squally.  Fourteen  bar¬ 
rels  of  rum  had  been  found  in  the  store,  but  how  were 
they  to  be  taken  thence,  when  the  only  passage  there¬ 
from  was  blocked  with  an  enraged  group  of  loafers  ?  In 
a  very  threatening  attitude  Gilman  demanded  of  me 
what  business  I  had  upon  his  premises.  I  informed  him 
that  I  was  there  at  the  request  of  a  civil  officer,  to  aid 
him  in  the  execution  of  a  legal  warrant. 

“  Arou  are,  ha !  ” 

“  Yes,  sir.” 

Well,  get  out  of  this  store - quick,  or  you  will  find 

vourself  in  trouble.” 

I  assured  him  I  should  not  leave  the  store  until  or¬ 
dered  by  the  officer. 

He  stepped  backward  a  few  paces  to  arm  himself,  and 


WE  ROLL  THEM  OUT — LEGS. 


819 


advancing  toward  me  with  uplifted  axe,  said,  “  I  under¬ 
stand  yon  to  say  that  you  will  not  leave  my  store.” 

“  Yes,”  I  replied,  “  I  will  not  leave  your  store  until 
ordered  by  the  officer.” 

The  reader  will  desire  to  learn  what  awful  event  im¬ 
mediately  happened.  Well,  just  as  I  expected,  he  laid 
away  his  axe,  and  contented  himself  with  less  terrible 
measures  than  splitting  heads.  In  an  undertone  I 
remarked  to  the  officer,  that  when  he  should  give  orders 
for  those  barrels  of  liquor  to  go  out  the  store,  they  would 
go,  notwithstanding  the  cart  at  the  door,  and'  the 
loafers  who  blocked  the  passage  way. 

Approaching  the  group  crowded  in  the  door-way,  he 
said,  “  Gentlemen,  I  request  you  to  clear  that  passage. 
I  have  a  legal  warrant  to  execute,  and  you  may  be  sure 
I  shall  discharge  my  duties.” 

He  was  told  to  go  to  a  pldce  not  laid  down  on  the 
maps. 

Turning  to  Allen  and  myself,  who  were  awaiting 
orders,  the  officer  bade  us  roll  the  casks  of  liquor  for¬ 
ward.  They  came  forward. 

“  Now,”  said  the  officer,  “  I  once  more  command  you 
to  clear  that  doorway.” 

He  was  again  told  to  go  to - ,  a  warm  climate. 

“  Words  are  of  no  avail,”  said  the  officer,  addressing 
his  helpers,  “  we  must  act ;  put  those  barrels  into  the 
street.” 

We  laid  hold  of  the  barrel  nearest  the  door,  Allen  at 
one  end  of  it  and  I  at  the  other,  and  when  we  were 
ready  to  send  it  forward  I  quietly  advised  those  in  the 
passage  to  remove  the  legs  which  were  in  our  way,  or 
they  might  get  hurt,  when  I  was  told  to  go  to  a  place, 


320 


THREE  CHEERS  FOR  THE  LAW  ! 


which,  from  the  character  of  the  company  about  me  I 
had  reasons  to  believe  might  not  be  distant. 

With  that  we  sent  that  barrel  with  all  the  force  we 
could  command  against  the  obstructions,  and  after  a 
slight  recoil  of  the  casks  legs  were  put  in  motion  with 
alacrity,  and  the  doorway  was  cleared  of  loafers.  There, 
however,  stood  the  horse-cart,  its  rear  backed  as  near  to 
the  door  as  possible. 

Seeing  that  his  doughty  champions  had  failed  him, 
Gilman  seated  himself  in  the  rear  of  the  cart,  and 
thrust  his  feet  into  the  doorway.  After  assuring  him 
that  he  was  playing  a  losing,  and  very  dangerous  game, 
in  resisting  a  civil  officer,  1  advised  him  to  take  his  legs 
out  of  the  way,  or  the  weight  of  a  barrel  of  rum  would 
test  their  strength.  He  did  not  remove  them,  and  the 
barrel  was  rolled  directly  upon  them.  Fortunately  they 
were  strong  legs,  and"  stood  the  strain  well,  but  the 
weight  of  the  cask  held  him  firmly  in  his  place.  I 
sprang  over  the  barrel,  and  seizing  it  by  one  end  tipped 
it  off  those  rather  novel  skids,  greatly  to  his  relief^  and 
he  concluded  to  make  no  further  resistance. 

The  horse  and  cart  were  removed,  and  the  way  being 
now  cleared,  the  remaining  casks  soon  followed  the  one 
which  had  encountered  so  many  obstructions. 

The  entire  stock,  fourteen  barrels,  were  loaded  on 
wagons  in  waiting,  and  preceded  by  the  officer  and  his 
aids,  the  precious  stuff  was  deposited  in  a  secure  place, 
to  await  the  final  adjudication  of  the  case  by  the  proper 
authorities. 

A  knowledge  of  what  was  transpiring  had  spread 
rapidly  through  the  city  while  we  were  making  the 
seizure,  and  when  the  job  was  finished,  and  the  teams, 


JOHN  HAWKINS. 


321 


loaded  with  liquors,  were  passing  up  the  streets,  it  was 
evident  to  all  that  the  law  had  triumphed,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  weakness  of  the  legal  party,  and  the  mothers, 
wives,  and  daughters  ,of  Hallowell,  waving  their  handker¬ 
chiefs  as  we  passed,  cheered  us  on  our  way.  This  was 
my  first  experience  of  the  practical  working  of  the 
Maine  Law.  It  had  ivorked  like  a  charm  thus  far. 

Some  time  elapsed  before  the  session  of  the  court  and 
the  trial  of  the  case.  After  filling  my  appointments 
and  returning  to  Boston,  I  met  John  Hawkins,  who  had 
also  just  returned  from  a  tour  in  Maine,  closing  with 
labor  at  Hallowell.  After  the  usual  salutation,  the 
faithful  Washingtonian  informed  me,  with  great  exulta¬ 
tion,  that  he  had  happened  to  reach  Hallowell  just  in 
time  to  see  the  fourteen  barrels  of  condemned  liquors 
poured  into  the  gutter,  and  he  informed  me  that  after 
the  emptying  of  the  first  cask,  he  turned  it  on  end,  and 
taking  his  stand  upon  it,  he  addressed  the  crowd  who 
had  gathered  to  see  the  show,  while  the  remaining 
thirteen  casks  were  being  emptied. 

“  It  was,”  said  Hawkins,  “  one  of  the  happiest  hours 
of  my  life.” 

We  can  well  believe  it  was  a  glad  time  for  Hawkins, 
to  see  his  old  enemy,  which  had  for  so  many  years  held 
him  in  a  slavery  worse  than  Egyptian,  led  out  to  execu¬ 
tion,  and  amid  the  cheers  of  its  enemies,  mingled  with 
the  contents  of  the  sewers. 

The  third  day  of  my  stay  in  Hallowell,  officer  Smith 
seized  the  cargo  of  a  vessel  just  arrived  from  Boston, 
and  with  his  former  aids,  and  two  or  three  other  volun¬ 
teers,  was  hoisting  the  liquor  from  the  vessel’s  hold,  and 
putting  it  upon  the  wharf,  when  our  operations  were 


322  CARGOES  OR  PINT  BOTTLES,  EITHER. 

arrested  by  a  call  for  a  compromise.  A  consultation 
was  had  by  the  interested  parties,  and  the  best  terms 
the  friends  of  the  law  would  grant  to  the  captain  of  the 
vessel,  or  rather  the  owners  of  the  liquors,  for  whom 
the  captain  was  authorized  to  act,  was,  that  not  a  gallon 
of  the  cargo  should  be  landed  in  the  State  of  Maine, 
but  that,  putting  on  board  what  he  had  already  landed 
on  the  wharf,  the  vessel  should  immediately  make  sail 
for  Boston.  This  must  be  done,  or  the  whole  cargo 
would,  after  the  proper  legal  condemnation,  go  to  swell 
the  waters  of  the  Kennebec.  The  terms  were  accepted, 
and  those  who  had  ‘shipped  the  liquors  in  Boston  soon 
learned  that  the  Maine  Law  could  deal  with  cargoes ,  as 
well  as  the  contents  of  a  pint  bottle. 

Does  the  reader  wonder  at  the  great  outcry  against 
that  law  from  the  time  it  began  to  be  enforced  to  this 
hour,  and  the  unnumbered  falsehoods  which  have  been 
uttered  to  prove  its  inefficiency  ?  Like  a  steam  engine 
of  an  hundred  horse-power,  or  a  hydraulic  press  capable 
of  pressing  an  inch  pine  board  to  one-eighth  of  that 
thickness,  the  Maine  Law  is  inefficient  if  not  used;  but 
give  to  its  enforcement  a  tolerably  healthy  public  senti¬ 
ment,  an  honest  purpose,  and  faithful  officers,  and  it  is 
glorious  to  see  how  the  liquor  traffic  will  expire  under 
its  pressure. 

As  a  further  objection  to  the  law,  it  has  been  urged 
that  its  successful  enforcement  involves  to  too  great  an 
extent  the  destruction  of  property.  This  was  urged 
some  years  since,  I  remember,  at  the  close  of  one  of  my 
public  lectures  in  Worcester  County,  Massachusetts, 
wherein  I  had  expressed  my  views  of  the  law.  An  in¬ 
dividual  rose  and  urged  the  objection  above  stated,  and 


PROPERTY. 


323 


added,  very  foolishly  as  I  thought,  that  God’s  way  of 
reforming  human  society  or  saving  men  was  not  to  de¬ 
stroy  that  which  was  useful  and  valuable.  “He,  on  the 
contrary,”  said  the  gentleman,  “  accomplished  His  bene¬ 
ficent  purposes  by  the  providential  diffusion  of  knowledge 
and  manifestations  of  His  love.”  I  replied  that  the  gen¬ 
tleman  had  evidently  read  the  history  ol  God’s  dealings 
with  men  to  very  little  purpose,  or  he  would  never  have 
referred  to  them  to  prove  the  very  high  estimation  in 
which  the  Deity  regards  what  we  choose  to  call  property ; 
for  at  the  Deluge,  as  well  as  by  the  destruction  of  the 
corrupt  cities  of  the  plain,  according  to  the  scriptures, 
there  must  have  been  some  heavy  losses  of  property. 
The  gentleman,  I  added,  should  remember  too,  that  when 
God  miraculously  rescued  his  people  from  the  terrible 
exactions  and  oppressions  of  the  Egyptian  King,  that  a 
very  large  number  of  horses  and  chariots  were  destroyed 
by  a  very  summary  process,  and  that  recent  excavations 
on  the  former  sites  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii  gave 
evidence  that  a  large  amount  of  proporty,  the  results  of 
human  labor  and  skill,  had  been  destroyed  there ,  and  at 
very  short  notice. 

There  is  no  important  question  now  agitated  among 
men,  about  which  so  many  lies  and  so  much  unmitigated 
nonsense  have  been  uttered,  as  in  defence  of  the  liquor 
traffic  and  the  use  of  intoxicants.  It  requires  more  of 
Christian  patience  than  I  possess  to  listen  to  and  bear 
with  it  all  without  getting  sometimes  religiously  angry. 
To  what  legitimate  use  can  the  contents  of  an  ordinary 
liquor  store  or  dram-shop  be  devoted  ?  Some  of  it  might 
be  re-distilled  and  the  alcohol  might  be  employed  for 
chemical  or  mechanical  purposes  ;  but  if  this  service 


824 


POUR  IT  OUT. 


was  committed  to  private  individuals,  even  as  agents  of 
the  state,  the  evil  genii  that  seem  ever  associated  with 
alcohol  in  its  relations  to  man  would  be  very  likely  to 
make  heartless  rogues  and  scoundrels  of  them.  No  ;  the 
very  best  disposition  that  can  be  made  of  them  is  to 
pour  them  into  the  gutters.  The  moral  effects  of  such 
an  exhibition  upon  those  who  witness  it  is  excellent,  as 
it  testifies  to  the  worthlessness  of  articles  which  many 
have  been  accustomed  to  value  quite  too  highly.  God 
be  thanked  for  the  Maine  Law !  and  the  grand  inspira¬ 
tion,  energy,  and  honest  devotion  to  the  public  weal  by 
which  it  was  created !  May  no  backward  step  ever  be 
taken  in  that  noble  State,  which  now  bears  the  flag  of 
prohibition,  in  the  advance  of  our  temperance  host. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Will  yofi  come  ?  Yes — A  Challenge — A  four  days  Debate — The 
Whisky  Champion — A  Bill  of  Indictment — Plausible  but  base¬ 
less — Still  Debating — Parallel  Cases — Shad  in  Connecticut  River! 
Ha,  Ha — A  good  time — A  capital  arrangement — A  Colloquy — 
A  distiller  at  the  front — Political  Economy — Still-fed  Pork — 
“  Tender  ” — Hard  Work  but  poor  Pay. 

During  the  summer  of  1852,  while  lecturing  in  Oneida 
County,  N.  Y.,  I  received  from  S.  F.  Cary,  of  Cincinnati, 
a  pressing  invitation  to  perform  some  service  in  Ohio, 
during  a  campaign  in  which  they  were  just  about  to 
enter.  A  move  had  been  made  to  fix  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  State,  by  the  vote  of  the  people,  a  provision  that 
the  Legislature  should  not  thereafter  have  power  to 
license  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors.  Some  weeks 
would  elapse  before  the  time  of  voting  on  the  question, 
and  the  friends  of  temperance  in  Ohio  wished  to  make 
a  pretty  thorough  canvass  of  the  state  and  bring  out 
the  largest  possible  vote  in  favor  of  the  proposed  amend¬ 
ment  to  the  constitution.  Four  public  lecturers  of  New 
England  had  been  engaged  to  aid  in  the  canvass — Rev. 
B.  E.  Hale,  of  Massachusetts,  and  three  others — and  now 
they  desired  to  add  Dr.  Jewett  to  their  list  of  public 
speakers  for  the  campaign.  I  was  reluctant  to  leave  a 
field  of  labor  where  my  services  were  kindly  appreciated 
and  generously  rewarded.  Many  years  of  steady  labor 
at  public  speaking,  except  during  the  summer  months, 

(325) 


WILL  YOU  COME?  YES. 


£20 

when  audiences  are  gathered  with  difficulty,  had  over¬ 
tasked  my  lungs  and  they  had  consequently  become 
somewhat  weakened,  and  I  doubted  whether  it  would  be 
quite  safe  to  engage  in  a  campaign  where  I  might  be 
required  to  address  large  assemblies  in  the  open  air. 
My  friend,  Gen.  Cary,  however,  would  take  no  denial, 
and  pressed  the  matter  with  so  much  urgency  and  zeal, 
that  I  at  length  consented.  For  reasons  already  stated, 
I  made  it  a  condition  of  the  engagement,  however,  that 
I  should  not  be  required  to  speak  often  in  th^  open  air. 
As  to  pecuniary  reward,  I  informed  my  friend  Cary  that 
I  should  not  consent  to  receive,  besides  traveling  ex¬ 
penses,  more  than  I  was  receiving  in  the  State  of  New 
York  at  the  time  I  left  it,  which  was  the  modest  sum  of 
ten  dollars  per  lecture. 

I  reached  Columbus,  the  capital  of  Ohio,  at  the  date 
agreed  upon,  had  an  interview  with  some  members  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  and  went  heartily  to  work, 
filling  appointments  previously  made  for  me.  While 
thus  engaged,  a  matter  was  arranged  at  Columbus,  which, 
it  will  be  seen,  seriously  concerned  me,  but  about  which 
I  was  not  consulted.  The  leaders  of  the  party  who,  from 
pecuniary  or  other  motives  were  laboring  to  prevent  the 
adoption  of  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution, 
had  imported  an  advocate  of  their  views  from  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  challenged  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  State  Temperance  Society  to  debate  with  him  the 
points  at  issue,  through  any  individual  they  might  venture 
to  pit  against  him.  The  Committee,  as  I  subsequently 
learned,  after  consultation  with  the  other  lecturers  from 
New  England,  accepted  the  challenge  for  a  public  debate, 
to  be  continued  through  four  successive  days,  at  Colum- 


A  FOUR  DAYS’  DEBATE. 


327 


bus,  Lancaster,  Circleville,  and  Cliillicotlie,  and  decided 
to  rely  upon  me  to  sustain,  in  the  debate,  tlie  views  and 
measures  of  the  temperance  party.  I  was  directed  to 
come  at  once  to  the  Capital,  and  not  until  reaching  the 
city  the  night  before  the  contemplated  encounter,  did  I 
learn  of  the  arrangement.  Nowise  reluctant  to  debate, 
at  any  time  and  with  any  party,  the  soundness  of  views 
I  had  long  held  and  publicly  advocated,  I  was  not  quite 
pleased  with  some  of  the  arrangements.  For  example : 
no  measures  had  been  taken  to  secure  a  full  report  of  the 
debate  and  its  subsequent  publication,  that  the  citizens 
of  Ohio,  who  could  not  be  present  might  read,  if  they 
could  not  hear,  the  argument  on  both  'sides  of  the  ques¬ 
tion.  I  urged  the  importance  of  such  a  measure  upon 
the  Committee,  assuring  them  that,  if  it  were  not 
adopted,  the  friends  of  the  liquor  traffic,  one  of  whom 
can  generally  make  more  noise  than  half-a-dozen  tempe¬ 
rance  men,  would  proclaim  a  decided  victory  for  their 
champion,  no  matter  what  the  result  might  be  in  the 
estimation  of  candid  men  present.  It  was,  however,  too 
late  to  mend  the  programme,  and  the  debate  proceeded 
according  to  previous  arrangement. 

My  opponent,  though  a  man  of  little  general  informa¬ 
tion  and  still  less  knowledge  of  science,  possessed  a 
good  deal  of  that  tact  and  assurance  so  useful  to  a 
fourth-rate  lawyer  before  a  country  justice  of  limited 
legal  attainments  and  a  crowd  of  honest  but  credulous 
people,  not  qualified  or  disposed  to  be  critical.  He  was 
thoroughly  versed  in  the  art  of  defending  the  liquor  sys¬ 
tem  by  scriptural  arguments,  and  could  quote  Paul’s  ad¬ 
vice  to  Timothy  as  accurately  and  aptly  as  any  of  our 
few  wine-drinking  doctors  of  divinity.  Some  of  his 


828 


THE  WHISKY  CHAMPION. 


views  of  scripture  truth,  however,  were  not  far  removed, 
in  point  of  absurdity,  from  those  of  the  poor  fellow  who, 
attempting  to  show  that  nearly  all  the  good  men  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  Bible  drank,  insisted  that  “  even  Zadoc  the 
Priest  took  a  horn.” 

Ere  the  hour  fixed  upon  for  the  commencement  of  the 
debate  had  arrived,  .a  large  crowd  of  citizens  had  as¬ 
sembled  around  the  platform,  which  had  been  erected  in 
the  open  air,  and  a  glance  over  the  upturned  faces  of 
the  throng  was  not  calculated  to  lessen  one’s  hatred  of 
the  liquor  traffic,  or  of  habits  which  could  so  inflame, 
disfigure,  and  brutalize  the  human  face  Divine.  Not 
often  is  the  temperance  advocate  called  to  face  such  a 
crowd,  for,  alas !  hard  drinkers  generally  keep  as  far 
from  the  public  teacher  and  reformatory  influences  as 
possible.  Deluded  by  the  “  mocker”  and  the  miserable 
sophistries  by  which  its  use  is  generally  defended,  and 
zealous  in  the  support  of  the  Diana  they  had  so  long 
and  devoutly  worshiped,  they  had  gathered  to  listen  to 
the  defense,  by  their  champion,  of  the  system  which, 
beside  its  other  manifold  mischievous  results,  was  ruin¬ 
ing  themselves,  body,  soul,  and  estate.  Deader,  do  you 
wonder  that,  seeing  in  the  crowd  before  me  many  such 
poor  deluded  men,  I  silently  but  earnestly  prayed  that 
God  would  enable  me  to  utter  there  some  truths  which 
might  be  blessed  to  their  instruction  and  rescue  from  an 
impending  and  terrible  doom. 

The  question  to  be  debated,  though  I  may  not  state  it 
in  the  precise  words  employed  in  arranging  for  the  dis¬ 
cussion,  was  substantially  this :  “  May  the  State  of 

Ohio,  in  accordance  with  its  own  constitution,  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  eternal  principles 


A  BILL  OF  INDICTMENT. 


329 


of  right  and  justice,  prohibit  entirely  the  manufacture 
and  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors?”  In  opening  for 
the  affirmative,  I  employed  the  time  allotted  me  in  pre¬ 
senting  the  grounds  on  which  we  claimed  for  the  state 
the  right  disputed.  I  affirmed  that  the  traffic  had  re¬ 
sulted,  not  only  in  the  personal  ruin  of  thousands  of  its 
citizens,  deeply  afflicting,  meanwhile,  their  families  and 
connections,  but  that  it  had,  at  the  same  time,  been 
waging  perpetual  war  on  all  public  interests,  sanitary, 
social,  moral,  educational,  material,  and  governmental, 
and  that,  while  doing  all  this  mischief,  it  benefited  per¬ 
manently  nobody ;  for  there  was,  I  asserted,  abundant 
proof  that  a  large  percentage  of  those  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  liquors  were  personally  ruined 
in  health  and  morals  by  the  evil  influences  of  their  own 
business,  or  suffered  from  the  ruin,  thereby,  of  some 
members  of  their  families.  Having  thus  presented,  as 
well  as  1  was  able  in  a  single  hour,  a  bill  of  indictment 
against  the  liquor  system  generally,  1  rested  the  case, 
for  the  time,  and  yielded  the  floor  to  my  opponent.  It 
is  but  just  to  say,  that  from  the  crowd  around  the  stand, 
made  up,  as  it  was  in  part,  of  dealers  in  and  drinkers 
of  whisky,  I  received  no  insults  or  interruption,  but  was 
listened  to  with  that  respectful  attention  with  which  true 
American  citizens  should  ever  listen  to  public  addresses, 
oven  when  they  do  not  at  all  accept  the  doctrines  or  ap¬ 
prove  the  sentiments  of  the  speaker. 

The  reply  of  my  opponent,  though  having  but  a  feeble 
foundation,  certainly  possessed  the  charm  of  novelty, 
and  was  presented  with  considerable  force  and  with  evi¬ 
dent  sincerity.  I  doubt  if  a  suspicion  had  ever  entered 
his  mind,  that  it  was  utterly  fallacious. 


330 


PLAUSIBLE  BUT  BASELESS. 


He  called  attention  to  the  fact,  that  in  the  creation  of 
living  beings,  in  almost  endless  varieties  of  form,  size, 
and  structure,  to  inhabit  every  zone  from  the  equator  to 
the  arctic,  and  with  habits  and  modes  of  life  varying 
almost  to  infinity,  God  had  established,  in  relation  to 
their  means  of  subsistence,  one  law,  and  that  was  that 
they  choose,  through  the  aid  of  an  instinct  which  he 
had  implanted,  their  own  diet  and  drink. 

Was  it  to  be  supposed,  he  asked,  that  man,  the  para¬ 
gon  of  animals,  the  lord  of  all  inferior  races,  and  made 
but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  was  less  capable  of 
choosing  his  own  diet  and  drink  than  the  cattle  of  the 
hills,  the  winged  races,  the  crawling  reptiles,  or  even  the- 
tiny  insect  that  sports  its  little  day  of  life  in  the  air 
around  us  ?  The  supposition,  he  said,  could  not  be  in¬ 
dulged  for  one  moment.  He  further  urged  that  this 
right  of  choosing  their  own  diet  and  drinks  was  so  sacred 
that  even  the  Creator  and  Eternal  Law-Giver  had  never 
interfered  with  it,  and  “  here  we  have,”  said  he,  “  in 
these  prohibitory  laws,  an  attempt  by  our  poor  imperfect 
human  law  makers,  to  do  what  God  himself  has  never 
done — to  regulate  the  diet  and  drink  of  man.”  Of 
course,  I  cannot  pretend  that  I  give  the  exact  words  of 
the  speaker.  My  language  may  be  better  or  worse  than 
his,  but  those  were  his  leading  ideas. 

In  reply,  I  admitted  the  truth  of  the  gentleman’s 
statement,  so  far  as  the  lower  orders  of  animals  are  con¬ 
cerned,  but  urged  that  the  fact  had  no  bearing  on  the 
matter  under  discussion  ;  that  in  his  treatment  of  man, 
the  Creator  had  certainly  made  him  an  exception  to  the 
rule  stated,  if  we  were  to  believe  the  Bible,  for,  accord¬ 
ing  to  that,  one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  very  first  com- 


STILL  DEBATING. 


331 


mand  given  to  man  in  Eden,  was  a  restriction  on  his 
diet,  forbidding  him,  on  pain  of  death,  to  eat  of  the  fruit 
of  a  certain  tree  of  the  garden.  Furthermore,  I  called 
attention  to  the  fact,  that  under  the  Mosaic  economy 
very  precise  directions  were  given  for  the  regulation  of 
the  diet.  Of  the  flesh  of  certain  animals  the  people 
were  permitted  to  eat,  of  the  flesh  of  others  they  were 
forbidden  to  eat.  What,  I  then  asked,  became  of  the 
gentleman’s  assertion  that  the  right  of  man ,  as  well  as 
of  all  other  animals,  to  choose  his  own  diet,  was  so 
sacred  that  the  Creator  had  never  interfered  with  it  ? 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  attempt  even  an  abstract  of 
the  four  days  debate,  especially  after  the  lapse  of  eigh¬ 
teen  years.  So  far  as  it  was  strictly  relevant  to  the 
question  at  issue,  there  were  no  points  presented  on 
either  side  except  the  novel  but  baseless  one  already  re¬ 
ported,  with  which  my  fellow-laborers  are  not  familiar. 
They  have  often  listened  to  the  stereotyped  objections 
of  the  liquor  party  to  restrictive  or  prohibitory  legisla¬ 
tion,  and  many  of  them,  doubtless,  have  often  answered 
them  quite  as  well  as  I  did,  as  they  were  successively 
presented  by  my  opponent  on  the  occasion  referred  to. 

To  his  assertion,  that  the  legislature  of  Ohio  had  no 
constitutional  right  to  prohibit  the  traffic,  I  replied  by 
quoting  the  unanimous  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  rendered  five  years  previous,  and 
suggested,  very  respectfully  of  course,  that  the  aggregate 
wisdom  of  our  Supreme  Court  was  probably  quite  equal 
to  that  of  the  gentleman  from  New  York. 

My  opponent,  though  evidently  a  man  of  kindly  dis¬ 
position,  and  rarely  resorting  to  offensive  personalities, 
and  never  to  the  employment  of  the  billingsgate  in 


382 


PARALLEL  CASES. 


which  advocates  of  the  liquor  traffic  are  wont  to  indulge, 
manifested,  as  might  have  been  expected,  an  utter  want 
of  candor  in  refusing  to  admit  an  error  when  fairly  con¬ 
victed  of  one,  or  yielding  a  point  when  fairly  turned 
against  him.  In  such  cases  he  would  dodge  the  point 
where  his  position  had  proved  untenable,  seeming  to  for¬ 
get  that  he  had  made  it,  and  drive  at  some  other  point 
as  remote  from  it  as  possible.  As  an  illustration  of  his 
method  in  such  cases,  take  the  following.  It  occurred 
in  our  debate  at  Chillicothe. 

He  asserted  distinctly  and  repeatedly  that  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  legislation  on  this  continent,  there  was  no  paral¬ 
lel  to  that  provision  of  the  Maine  law  which  protects  a 
man  in  the  possession  of  liquors  as  a  valuable  property, 
while  in  his  own  dwelling,  but  confiscates  and  destroys 
them  if  found  in  his  store  as  articles  of  merchandise — 
condemning  and  destroying  to-day  what  it  protected  as 
a  valuable  possession  yesterday,  because  the  location  of 
the  property  had  been  changed  or  surrounding  circum¬ 
stances  slightly  altered.  With  a  show  of  entire  confi¬ 
dence  in  the  truth  of  his  statement,  he  challenged  me 
to  point  to  any  specimen  of  legislation  equally  absurd, 
as  he  proclaimed  it. 

During  the  next  half-hour  the  floor  was  mine,  and  I 
proceeded  at  once  to  answer  his  urgent  call  for  cases 
parallel  to  the  one  he  had  chosen  to  condemn,  as  an 
anomaly  in  the  history  of  legislation.  I  cited  the  laws 
then  existing  regulating  the  taking  of  fish  from  the  Con- 
necticut  river,  where  the  boats,  seines,  and  other  tackle 
of  the  fisherman,  which  might  be  lawfully  used  on  cer¬ 
tain  days  of  the  week,  are  forbidden  to  be  used  for  the 
same  purposes  on  other  specified  days — protected  as  a 


SHAD  IN  CONNECTICUT  RIVER.  HA  !  HA  !  333 

valuable  possession  up  to  tlie  stroke  of  twelve  on  Tues¬ 
day  night,  say,  but  if  found  in  use  on  the  river  an  hour 
later  by  the  officers  of  the  law  or  others  disposed  to  com¬ 
plain  of  the  offence,  confiscated  and  destroyed. 

I  cited  the  law  concerning  the  possession  of  cards  or 
other  gaming  apparatus,  which  a  man  might  legally  use 
in  his  own  dwelling  for  the  amusement  of  his  children 
or  friends,  but  found  in  his  store,  employed  in  gaming, 
are  forfeited  or  destroyed.  I  referred, 'also,  to  the  fact, 
that  a  gentleman  might,  if  lie  chose,  import  from  Europe 
or  elsewhere  a  valuable  horse,  and  that  our  laws  would 
defend  his  right  to  the  property,  even  on  mid-ocean,  or 
wherever  the  vessel  might  float  under  our  flag,  not  only 
against  the  fraudulant  claim  of  an  individual,  but  against 
that  of  a  nation  if  need  be ;  and  yet,  by  the  laws  of  my 
native  state,  that  very  horse  would,  after  reaching  our 
shores,  be  confiscated  and  lost  to  its  owner,  if  found  on 
a  race-course  and  running  for  a  wager. 

Who  now  would  venture  to  say  that  the  cases  cited 
were  not  in  point  and  did  not  fully  meet  the  gentleman’s 
demand  ?  What  could  a  candid  man  in  his-  position  do 
but  to  admit  that  he  had  been  mistaken  on  that  particu¬ 
lar  point,  that  he  had  not  been  aware  of  the  existence 
of  the  laws  referred  to — or  still  to  deny  their  existence 
and  call  for  the  proof.  My  opponent  did  neither.  He 
rose  with  an  expression  of  unabated  confidence,  I  might 
almost  say  of  exultation,  which  was  instantly  answered 
by  a  broad  and  sympathetic  grin  on  every  whisky- 
bloated  face  before  him,  and  said, 

“  Mr.  Chairman,  and  citizens  of  Ohio,  the  gentleman 
who  has  just  taken  his  seat,  has  given  us  a  full  half-hour’s 
instruction  in  relation  to  horse-racing,  gambling,  and 
- shad  in  the  Connecticut  river !  ” 


334 


A  GOOD  TfME. 


This  called  forth  from  the  whisky  element  in  the 
crowd  a  shout  of  derisive  laughter,  and  after  pausing  a 
moment  to  enjoy  this  manifestation  of  sympathy,  and 
joy  at  his  assumed  triumph,  he  proceeded,  “  but  what 
has  all  that  to  do  with  the  question,  whether  the  people 
of  Ohio  are  to  be  deprived  of  their  inalienable  rights  by 
oppressive  and  infamous  laws,  dictated  by  a  set  of  cold 
water  fanatics.”  From  this  he  went  on,  without  another 
word  of  reference  to  the  point  from  which  he  had  been 
driven  by  incontrovertible  facts,  to  multiply  points 
equally  untenable,  with  an  assurance  almost  sublime. 

What  possible  profit  can  come  of  a  public  debate  con¬ 
ducted  on  one  side  in  such  a  style  ?  As  I  had  anticipated, 
and  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  liquor  party,  who  from 
long  practice,  have  become  expert  in  misrepresentation, 
telegraphed  over  the  country  that  in  the  four  days 
debate  in  Ohio  on  the  liquor  laws  the  temperance  party 
had  been  terribly  discomfited. 

The  excitement  and  fatigue  incident  to  that  debate 
which,  as  has  already  been  stated,  continued  through 
four  days,  on  three  of  which  it  was  held  in  the  open  air, 
was  a  severe  tax  on  my  powers  of  endurance,  consider¬ 
ing  the  state  of  my  health  at  the  time,  especially  as  it 
was  preceded  and  followed  by  a  public  service  at  some 
point  daily.  My  labor  during  the  entire  campaign,  which 

occupied  nearly  eight  weeks  from  my  arrival  at  Columbus, 

« 

was  unintermitted,  and  contrary  to  the  conditions  of  my 
engagement ;  not  less  than  twelve  or  fifteen  of  my  dis¬ 
courses  were  delivered  in  the  open  air.  Notwithstanding 
the  severity  of  the  labor,  the  tour  through  the  state,  and 
the  daily  contact  with  earnest  friends  of  the  cause, 
afforded  me  much  pleasure.  At  one  point  especially,  I 


A  CAPITAL  ARRANGEMENT. 


335 


enjoyed  my  work  so  well,  that  I  love  to  recall  the  par¬ 
ticulars.  Some  varieties  of  food  skillfully  prepared,  and 
delicious  when  first  served,  are  still  excellent  when 
warmed  up  for  a  second  repast. 

It  was  at  Cincinnati  that  the  circumstances  surround¬ 
ing  me,  created  in  a  large  measure  by  the  practical  wis¬ 
dom  and  tact  of  the  local  committee  of  arrangements, 
secured  me  a  rare  opportunity  for  pleading  the  cause  of 
temperance  with  the  people,  such  as  I  have  seldom 
enjoyed  during  my  thirty  years  of  public  service.  They 
obtained  leave  of  the  city  authorities,  to  erect,  at  the 
junction  of  Fifth  street  and  Market  square,  if  I  rightly 
remember,  a  platform  from  which  I  might  address  the 
people  for  a  number  of  successive  evenings,  which  were 
then  pleasant.  The  platform  was  raised  about  four  feet 
from  the  ground  or  pavement,  and  its  supporting  posts 
at  each  corner  extended  some  six  or  eight  feet  higher. 
Nailed  to  the  sides  of  these  posts,  at  a  proper  distance 
above  the  platform,  were  small  cross-pieces  extending 
therefrom  each  way  two  or  three  feet,  and  on  these  very 
many  gentlemen  suspended  their  lanterns  which  they 
must  have  brought  from  home  for  that  special  purpose, 
as  the  principal  streets  being  lighted,  lanterns  would 
hardly  be  needed  on  a  pleasant  evening  except  in  trav¬ 
ersing  some  narrow  and  unlighted  streets.  Each  of  the 
four  posts  of  the  platform  was  thus  rendered  a  grand 
chandelier,  and  the  street  was  lighted  far  better  than 
are  some  of  our  public  halls  when  in  use.  Around  that 
platform  were  gathered  for  a  number  of  evenings  a 
crowd  consisting  entirely  of  male  citizens  of  all  ages, 
from  ten  to  eighty  years,  and  a  more  orderly  crowd 
of  equal  numbers  I  never  saw.  Except  an  occasional 


386 


A  COLLOQUY. 


clapping  of  hands,  or  an  approving  exclamation  when 
some  point  made  by  the  speaker  gave  special  pleasure  to 
a  portion  of  the  audience,  there  were  no  noisy  demon¬ 
strations,  but  a  patient,  respectful  attention  to  the  views 
advanced.  Just  here  I  would  earnestly  recommend  to 
our  friends  of  the  cities  a  similar  arrangement  for  the 
instruction  of  the  people  in  reference  to  this  great  prac¬ 
tical  question.  With  the  laboring  men  of  our  cities,  and 
during  the  warm  season  of  the  year,  the  evening  is  gen¬ 
erally  a  time  of  leisure,  and  if  that  season  be  chosen, 
when  the  evenings  are  usually  pleasant,  and  the  plan  of 
our  Cincinnati  friends  be  adopted  for  lighting  the  locality 
of  the  meeting,  it  will  leave  those  who  would  speak  to 
the  people  little  to  desire  in  the  way  of  opportunity. 
The  thorough  lighting  of  the  space  for  a  wide  distance 
around  the  platform,  is  essential  to  success,  because 
those  inclined  from  any  cause  to  disturb  the  meeting 
will  not  venture  to  do  so  when  a  glare  of  light  reveals 
the  offender  to  those  around  him. 

After  developing  my  views  of  the  subject  for  several 
evenings,  I  decided  to  devote  the  concluding  service  to 
replies,  from  the  platform,  to  questions  from  the  crowd 
relative  to  any  phase  of  the  subject  concerning  which 
they  might  desire  my  opinions,  and  to  answering,  as  far 
as  I  might  be  able,  any  objections  to  the  doctrines  ad¬ 
vanced  during  the  preceding  evenings.  I  was  so  well 
pleased  with  the  result  of  that  experiment,  that  I  have 
pursued  a  similar  course  very  many  times  since  at  the 
conclusion  of  a  series  of  lectures  in  churches,  public 
halls,  and  wherever  the  people  had  gathered  to  hear. 
But  we  will,  in  thought,  return  to  Cincinnati,  and  the 
throng  around  that  platform.  Fearing  that  there  might 


A  COLLOQUY. 


337 


be  some  hesitation  at  first,  in  presenting  objections  by 
those  who  honestly  entertained  them,  I  had  arranged 
with  some  of  our  most  devoted  and  influential  brethren, 
to  mingle  with  the  crowd  at  points  some  distance  from 
the  stand,  and  when  I  should  invite  questions,  to  have 
in  mind  some  popular  objection  of  the  liquor  advocates, 
and  with  great  earnestness  launch  it  at  me  at  once  and 
thus  set  the  ball  in  motion.  The  arrangement  worked 
like  a  charm,  and  for  an  hour  and  a  half  at  least,  I  was 
constantly  and  pleasantly  employed  in  answering  objec¬ 
tions  to  the  doctrines,  plans,  and  measures  of  the  tem¬ 
perance  party.  In  doing  this  I  was  careful  in  all  cases 
to  treat  the  objector  or  questioner  with  all  possible 
respect  as  an  honest  seeker  after  truth,  as  doubtless 
many  were,  avoiding  whatever  might  give  needless 
offense  ;  for  my  aim  was  to  convert  men  to  correct  views 
of  a  great  practical  question,  rather  than  any  momentary 
triumph  over  those  who  might  seem,  for  the  time,  to  be 
ranging  themselves  with  our  opposition.^  Invariably  I 
would  pause  at  the  conclusion  of  every  answer  or  ex¬ 
planation  and  ask,  “  Is  my  answer  to  that  question  satis¬ 
factory  to  my  countrymen  around  me  ?  If  so,  I  will 
attend  to  the  next  objection,  if  others  shall  be  presented.” 
At  length  an  individual,  mighty  in  avoirdupois,  who  was 
standing  in  the  doorway  of  a  house  across  the  street, 
bawled  out  in  a  very  excited  voice  and  manner,  that  I 
had  uttered  from  the  platform  a  statement  absolutely 
untrue  concerning  a  very  important  interest  of  Ohio. 
While  he  was  speaking,  a  friend  standing  by  my  side, 
remarked  to  me  in  an  undertone,  that  the  person  I  had 
now  to  deal  with  was  one  of  the  great  distillers  of  the 
city. 


15 


338 


A  DISTILLER  AT  THE  FRONT. 


“  Keep  shady,”  said  I,  “  I  must  seem  not  to  know  his 
•vocation,  and  shall  gain  an  immense  advantage  by  so 
doing.”  I  invited  him  to  specify  the  false  statement, 
when  the  following  colloquy  substantially  occurred.  I 
cannot  of  course  be  certain  that  I  give  the  precise  words 
but  will  report  it  as  nearly  as  possible,  after  the  lapse 
of  eighteen  years.  A  frequent  reference  to  the  affair 
since,  in  conversation  with  friends,  has  helped  to  keep 
the  matter  fresh  in  my  memory,  for  the  story  was  too 
good  to  spoil  by  close  keeping. 

Dist.  “You  stated  that  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  works  great  mischief  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  which  no  one 
will  deny,  but  you  also  stated  that  no  corresponding  advantages 
result,  which  is  not  true,  for  many  millions  of  gallons  of  whisky 
are  annually  exported  from  the  state,  adding  greatly  to  its 
wealth .” 

Dr.  J.  “  Sir,  you  are  mistaken.  Private  individuals  may  add  to 
their  wealth  by  the  liquor  business,  but  the  State  does  not.” 

Dist.  “  That  is  quite  a  new  notion  in  political  economy,  that  you 

can  increase  the  wealth  of  the  individual  citizens  of  a  state,  without 

* 

adding  to  the  wealth  of  the  state.” 

Dr.  J.  “  New  as  it  may  be  to  you,  sir,  it  is  yet  true.  When  Mr. 
A.  picks  the  pocket  of  Mr.  B.  he  is  the  richer  by  the  contents  of  the 
pocket-book,  but  nothing  is  added  thereby  to  the  wealth  of  the 
state.” 

[Just  here  comes  a  loud  shout  from  the  listening  throng,  which 
for  a  moment  somewhat  disconcerted  the  distiller,  but  he  soon  ral¬ 
lied  and  proceeded  thus :] 

Dist.  “We  were  not  talking  of  theft  or  of  other  crimes,  but  of 
legitimate  and  honorable  business.” 

Dr.  J.  “  Well,  sir,  by  the  business  of  manufacturing  and  selling 
intoxicating  liquors,  men  do  accumulate  wealth,  and  therefore  pay 
heavier  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  state  government,  but  mean¬ 
while  thousands  are  made  so  poor  by  that  same  traffic,  that  they 
pay  little  or  no  tax  at  all,  and  thus  the  state  is  a  loser  rather  than  a 


POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 


339 


gainer  by  the  entire  liquor  business,  even  in  a  money  point  of  view 
— not  to  speak  just  here  of  its  immense  loss  in  the  health,  happi¬ 
ness,  and  morals  of  its  people. 

“  But  I  wish  to  call  your  attention,  sir,  and  that  of  the  crowd 
around  us,  to  another  point,  which  perhaps  you  have  not  considered. 
Pork  is  one  of  the  great  staples  of  Ohio,  and  the  state  exports  an 
immense  amount  annually,  five-sixths  of  which,  I  am  informed,  is 
corn-fed,  produced  by  the  farmers  of  the  state,  while  one-sixth  is 
still-fed  pork,  of  an  inferior  quality.  This  gets  so  mixed  with  the 
farmer’s  pork,  while  passing  to  the  great  markets  of  the  country, 
that  it  cannot  he  distinguished  until  it  reaches  the  consumer.  That 
fact  being  well  known,  depreciates  the  value  of  western  pork  in 
the  aggregate,  often  three  or  four  dollars  on  the  barrel  below  the 
price  of  pork  produced  and  packed  in  the  eastern  states.  Thus  the 
farmers  of  Ohio  are  losers  to  an  immense  amount,  that  the  distillers 
may  sell,  above  its  real  value ,  their  miserable  still-fed  pork.  That, 
sir,  is  one  of  the  ways  in  which  Ohio  is  enriched  by  the  liquor 
business.” 

[Here  came  another  shout  from  the  listening  throng,  but  the  vet¬ 
eran  distiller  still  stood  his  ground,  and  made  another  point  thus.] 

Dist.  That  is  but  one-half*  the  truth,  the  other  half  is,  that  the 
smoked  meats  produced  by  the  distillers  bring  up  the  price  of  the 
entire  aggregate  exported,  as  they  are  a  better  article,  and  are  pre¬ 
ferred  in  the  markets.” 

Dr.  J.  “  Why  are  they  preferred  ?  ” 

Dist.  “It  is  no  use  denying  it,  the  fact  is  notorious.” 

Dr.  J.  “  I  have  not  disputed  the  fact.  I  only  wish  to  know  why 
they  are  preferred,  that  is  all.” 

Dist.  “  It  is  no  use  to  quibble  about  the  matter.  Meet  the  fact, 
and  dispose  of  it  if  you  can.” 

[He  seemed  to  suspect  that  I  might  make  some  bad  use  of  any 
explanation  he  might  make  of  the  fact  stated,  and  sought  to  avoid 
it,  but  I  still  thrust  the  question  upon  him.] 

Dr.  J.  “  Why  are  the  smoked  meats  of  the  still-fed  swine  consid¬ 
ered  more  valuable,”  until  at  last  he  responded. 

Dist.  “  Well,  sir,  if  you  must  know,  I  believe  it  is  because  the 
meats  are  more  tender.” 

Dr.  J.  “  Aye  J  That  is  it  1  Please  notice  that  fact,  citizens  of 


340 


STILL-FED  PORK — “  TENDER.” 

Ohio.  The  smoked  meats  of  the  distillers  are  ‘  more  tender  *  than 
those  produced  by  the  farmers.  I  will  now  explain  to  you  why  they 
are  more  tender.  Causes  which  lessen  the  vitality  of  an  animal 
during  life,  hasten  its  decomposition  after  death.  Some  diseases  of 
a  low  type  produce  such  changes  in  the  solid  structure  of  the  human 
body,  that  parts  here  and  there  lose  their  vitality,  run  into  a  state 
of  decomposition,  and  slough  off,  while  the  patient  yet  lives.  Now, 
still-slops  form  an  imperfect  diet  for  animals,  for  although  you  can, 
by  their  use,  load  an  animal  with  adipose  or  fat,  as  you  may  a  man 
by  the  use  of  whisky,  yet  the  tissues  of  the  whole  body  have  but  a 
low  degree  of  vitality,  and  are  at  the  very  verge  of  decomposition 
before  the  butcher  end  ;  the  life  of  the  animal.  No  wonder  that  the 
flesh  of  such  animals  even  when  cured  for  the  market,  is  tender. 
Let  those  who  fancy  such  tenderness  enjoy  it.  For  one  I  prefer 
hams  from  the  corn-fed  pork,  though  the  fibres  be  a  little  less 
tender.” 

[The  colloquy  was  here  interrupted  by  a  peal  of  laughter  from 
the  crowd,  and  our  friend  the  distiller,  lost  for  the  moment  his  good 
nature,  and  declared,  with  a  moderate  explosive,  my  statement  un¬ 
founded,  or  at  best  an  exaggeration.] 

Dr.  J.  “ Hold  on,  sir,”  I  replied.  “You  declare  my  statement 
false.  Listen  a  moment  to  another,  and  deny  it  if  you  dare  in  the 
presence  of  this  crowd,  who  are  doubtless  acquainted  with  the  facts. 
A  man  accustomed  to  that  business,  is  sent  daily  through  those  large 
enclosures  where  swine  are  fed  in  connection  with  the  great  distil¬ 
leries  around  this  city,  to  examine  the  swine  in  every  pen,  and  when 
he  finds  one  with  a  scratch  or  wound  upon  him,  as  often  happens, 
he  is  at  once  withdrawn  from  the  pen  and  sent  to  the  butcher,  and 
why  ?  Because,  sir,  it  is  well  known  by  all  concerned,  that  wounds 
on  still-fed  hogs  do  not  heal.” 

The  Distiller  here  broke  down  and  quit  the  field,  and 
it  would  have  done  the  reader  good  to  have  heard  the 
shouts  and  roars  of  laughter  that  went  up  from  that 
crowd  as  he  withdrew  from  a  contest  which  he  had  him¬ 
self  provoked. 

While  serving  the  cause  in  Ohio  I  occasionally  called 


HARD  WORK — POOR  PAY. 


341 


on  the  Committee  for  funds  needed  to  pay  traveling 
expenses,  and  to  transmit  to  my  family.  It  was  fur¬ 
nished  me.  Of  course  I  could  not  present  a  bill  for  my 
services  until  my  work  was  ended,  and  I  felt  no  anxiety 
about  the  matter,  supposing  that  I  was  dealing  with 
honorable  men,  amply  able  to  discharge  any  obligations 
they  might  incur.  When,  at  the  close  of  my  labor,  I 
did  present  my  bill,  giving  credit,  of  course,  for  what 
had  been  already  paid,  I  was  informed  that  the  treasury 
was  just  then  exhausted,  but  that  funds  would  be  forth¬ 
coming,  presently,  from  local  organizations  which  had 
pledged  certain  amounts  toward  the  fund  for  the  cam¬ 
paign.  As  I  was  to  return  immediately  to  my  family, 
it  was  arranged  that  the  balance  due,  $160,  should  be 
sent  me  in  a  draft  as  soon  as  possible. 

Not  one  cent  of  it  has  been  received  to  this  day ! 

Of  course  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  local  organi¬ 
zations  of  Ohio,  and  their  pledges  to  support  the  move¬ 
ment.  My  engagement  had  been  with  a  committee. 
They  failed  to  discharge  their  obligations,  and  I  suffered 
loss,  my  wife  and  a  family  of  dependent  children  sharing 
it  with  me.  I  had  this,  however,  to  comfort  me.  The 
wrong  attached  to  others,  the  lesser  evil  of  suffering, 
only,  was  mine. 

After  that  campaign  in  Ohio,  I  was  unable  for  years 
to  labor  continuously  in  the  way  of  public  lecturing,  for 
although  otherwise  in  tolerable  health,  I  could  speak  but 
for  a  few  evenings  in  succession,  before  my  lungs  would 
fail  me. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Westward  ho ! — On  the  Prairies — A  Thanksgiving  extemporized — 

Whisky  and  the  Indians — Life  on  the  Farm. 

The  ordinary  rewards  of  such  limited  service  as  I  was 
able  to  render  by  public  lecturing,  being  quite  insuffi¬ 
cient  properly  to  support  my  family,  consisting  at  the 
time,  of  fiye  sons  and  two  daughters,  beside  the  parent 
pair,  I  resolved  to  remove  to  the  west,  where,  on  a  new 
and  fertile  soil,  my  boys  could  aid  me  in  securing  for  the 
family  the  necessaries  of  life,  expecting,  of  course,  to 
lack  some  of  the  comforts  and  social  advantages  which 
we  had  enjoyed  in  older  communities.  I  sold  my  little 
farm  in  Mi  11  bury,  settled  up  my  affairs  and  found  myself 
possessed  of  about  eighteen  hundred  dollars  with  which 
to  transport  my  family  a  thousand  miles  or  more,  and 
on  some  new  field  start  anew  in  the  journey  of  life.  I 
spent  one  year  in  Batavia,  Illinois,  one  of  the  most 
delightful  villages  in  the  northern  portion  of  that  slate  ; 
and  so  long  as  memory  remains  to  me  I  shall  never  for¬ 
get,  or  cease  to  be  grateful  for  the  great  kindness  of  its 
people.  Of  course  while  with  them  I  did  what  I  could 
as  a  private  citizen  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  tem¬ 
perance  cause. 

As  I  had  often  heard  or  read  glowing  accounts  of  the 
excellent  soil  and  climate  of  Minnesota,  where  lands 
could  be  obtained  at  government  prices,  I  visited  the 
territory  in  the  spring  of  1855,  and  with  my  eldest  son, 

(542) 


345 


WHISKY,  AND  THE  INDIANS. 

of  men.  To  the  other,  who  still  lives  and  labors  in  the 
same  grand  enterprise,  my  thanks  are  hereby  publicly 
renewed.  * 

While  residing  in  Minnesota,  I  had  frequent  opportu¬ 
nities  to  learn  from  actual  observation  how  much  whis¬ 
ky  can  do  to  improve  the  character  and  conduct  of  that 
amiable  race  of  beings,  the  Sioux  Indians.  In  view  of 
all  I  have  seen  and  heard  of  the  consequences  of  fur¬ 
nishing  intoxicating  liquors  to  the  untamed  savages  in 
their  own  wretched  and  forever  shifting  homes,  or  on 
the  borders  of  civilization,  I  here  give  it  as  my  deliber¬ 
ate  opinion,  that  wherever  a  scoundrel  is  found  engaged 
in  that  business,  he  should  be  hitched  up  by  the  neck  to 
the  nearest  tree  able  to  bear  him,  or,  if  more  convenient, 
shot  in  his  tracks. 

The  results  of  the  liquor  traffic  are  terrible,  almost 
beyond  the  power  of  words  to  express,  even  in  civilized 
communities,  where  the  most  helpless  class  of  sufferers 
therefrom,  the  mothers,  wives,  and  children  of  drunkards, 
are,  to  some  extent,  protected  by  law  and  Christian 
neighbors,  from  extreme  violence ;  but  think,  dear 
reader,  what  must  be  the  influence  of  that  traffic  upon 
the  inmates  of  the  “  tepee,”  or  frail  tent  of  the  Indian ; 
to  have  a  veritable  savage  come  to  his  home  drunk,  with 
a  loaded  gun  upon  his  shoulder,  and  a  huge  knife  in  his 
belt,  to  drive  thence,  if  so  his  insane  fury  shall  direct, 
wife  and  children,  poorly  clad,  among  the  piled  snows 
of  a  northern  winter,  who?)  the  thermometer  ranges 
perhaps  between  twenty  and  thirty  degrees  below  zero ! 
And  all  this  for  the  miserable  profits  on  the  sale  of  a 
quart  of  whisky !  In  view  of  injustice  and  wrong  far 
less  than  is  involved  in  such  affairs,  a  man  may  “  be 
angry  and  sin  not.” 


346 


LIFE  ON  THE  FARM. 


As  the  incidents  of  my  life  on  the  prairies  have  no 
direct  bearing  on  the  progress  of  the  temperance  reform 
except  as  they  contributed  to  strengthen  my  lungs  for 
its  further  advocacy  in  after  years,  I  shall  not  pause  to 
narrate  them.  Lest,  however,  the  reader  should  con¬ 
clude  that  while  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  of 
which  I  am  exceedingly  fond,  I  forgot  the  temperance 
cause,  I  will  say  that  as  my  worn  lungs  gained  strength, 
I  occasionally  employed  them  in  assailing  the  liquor 
system,  and  urging  on  the  citizens  of  Faribault,  and 
neighboring  towns,  the  practice  of  total  abstinence. 
Another  fact  I  will  simply  allude  to  in  passing,  that  I 
found  time,  even  amid  the  hurry  and  worry  of  pioneer 
life,  to  read  the  temperance  papers.  Believing  that  my 
public  labors  as  an  advocate  of  temperance  were  ended, 
except  perhaps  in  my  immediate  neighborhood,  I  could 
not  be  content  to  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  state  of 
the  enterprise,  and  so  the  temperance  papers  found  me 
there.  Some  of  them  find  every  man  who  is  able  to 
have  two  coats  and  three  meals  per  day,  and  who  has  at 
the  same  time  any  tolerable  appreciation  of  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  temperance  reform  to  all  the  great  interests 
of  human  society. 

While  on  a  visit  to  the  East,  during  my  residence  in 
Minnesota,  I  was  describing  to  a  listening  group,  the 
depth  and  fertility  of  the  soil  on  my  prairie  farm,  when 
one  of  the  listeners,  being  of  a  speculative  turn  of  mind, 
enquired  if  it  would  not  be  an  excellent  soil  for  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  tobacco.  I  told  him  I  presumed  it  would, 
but  that  I  would  see  every  acre  of  my  quarter  section 
sunk  so  deep  that  a  lake  should  occupy  its  place  before 


LIFE  ON  THE  FARM. 


347 


one  acre  of  that  splendid  soil  should,  with  my  consent, 
he  used  to  supply  with  a  filthy  and  poisonous  weed,  the 
depraved  appetites  of  men,  and  to  abet  the  nuisance 
of  tobacco-smoke,  cigar-stumps,  and  stale  quids !  He 
seemed  quite  astonished  at  my  respect  for  a  principle, 
to  the  neglect  of — the  profits. 


CHAPTER  XXII, 

Return  to  New  England — Organization  and  Finance — Instruction 
the  Great  Want — Sensation  versus  Education — What  Might  have 
been — Poverty  and  its  results — Mistakes  of  Good  Men — Why  is 
it  permitted  ? — A  “  New  Departure  ”  Suggested — Will  you  attend 
to  it,  Sir? 

In  the  year  1858  I  receiver]  from  the  Executive  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Massachusetts  Temperance  Alliance  an 
invitation  to  enter  their  service.  I  accepted  the  invita¬ 
tion,  and  not  without  reluctance  left  a  home  and  a  peo¬ 
ple  endeared  to  me  by  many  associations,  for  my  former 
field  of  labor. 

I  wish  I  could  truthfully  say  that  I  found  the  temper¬ 
ance  cause  in  a  better  condition  in  Massachusetts,  than 
when  I  left  for  the  west,  five  years  previous.  Much  had 
been  done,  and  well  done,  by  earnest  friends  of  reform, 
but  their  efforts  had  failed  to  secure  two  important  re¬ 
sults, — the  thorough  organization  of  our  forces,  and  the 
thorough  or  progressive  education  of  the  people  in  those 
important  truths  which  the  progress  of  the  enterprise 
had  developed.  As  to  the  first  mentioned  object,  it  is  a 
sad  fact  that  in  more  than  half  the  towns  of  the  state 
no  local  temperance  organization  existed  in  1858.  The 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Alliance  were  aware  of  the 
fact  stated,  and  were  troubled  with  some  anxieties  on 
account  of  it.  One  member  of  it,  Mr.  II.  D.  Cushing, 
in  his  correspondence  with  me  inviting  my  return  to  the 
state,  called  my  attention  to  the  fact,  and  requested  me 

(348) 


RETURN  TO  NEW  ENGLAND. 


349 


to  make  it  the  subject  of  special  thought  while  preparing 
to  enter  anew  my  old  field  of  labor.  I  did  so,  and  im¬ 
mediately  after  reaching  Boston  I  prepared  a  form  of 
constitution  for  local  societies,  embodying  such  provis¬ 
ions,  and  sucli  only,  as  I  had  come  to  regard  as  essen¬ 
tial  to  efficiency  and  continued  existence.  My  form  was 
printed,  and  pretty  widely  distributed,  and  for  some 
months  I  urged  the  friends  of  temperance  where  no  or¬ 
ganization  of  any  kind  existed,  or  where  existing  ones 
embraced  but  a  part  of  the  total  abstainers  in  its  local¬ 
ity,  to  organize  at  once — either  under  the  form  I  had 
prepared,  or  some  better  one,  if  such  could  be  produced. 
It,  was  in  vain.  I  was  grieved  to  find  that  even  my 
fellow  laborers  in  the  lecture  field  did  not  sympathize 
with  my  views,  end  were  disinclined  to  attempt  so  formid¬ 
able  a  task.  I  reluctantly  abandoned  the  effort,  believ¬ 
ing  then,  as  I  now  do,  that  time  and  successive  failures 
to  carry  the  enemy’s  works  with  our  present  regiments, 
will  convert  my  brethren  pretty  generally  to  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  multiplying  them,  and  embodying  in  them  all 
our  available  force. 

A  serious  objection  often  made  to  the  form  1  had  pre¬ 
pared  for  local  societies,  was,  that  it  contained  a  provis¬ 
ion  for  a  paying  membership!  Just  as  sensible  would 
be  an  objection  to  any  tax  on  the  citizen  for  the  support 
of  government,  or  the  general  education  of  the  people — 
or  to  the  plan  of  a  campaign  in  time  of  war  which  em-. 
braced  no  commissary  department.  It  is  not  creditable 
to  the  intelligence  and  forethought  of  the  friends  of  tem¬ 
perance  anywhere,  if  they  fail  to  see  the  necessity  of 
some  sensible  provision  for  obtaining  from  the  rank  and 
file  of  our  own  force,  the  means  of  its  own  financial 


350 


ORGANIZATION  AND  FINANCE. 


support, — its  enlightenment,  enlargement,  and  perpetu¬ 
ity.  Such  a  provision  next  to  the  pledge  and  practice 
of  abstinence,  constitutes  the  very  life-blood  of  the  Tem¬ 
perance  Orders ;  without  it  they  could  not  exist  a  twelve- 
month.  Thoroughly  impressed  as  I  was  with  the  im¬ 
portance  of  the  truths  stated,  the  reader  can  judge  of  my 
feelings,  when  I  have  found  my  form  of  organization 
employed  with  that  essential  feature  stricken  out. 

And  yet,  where  such  things  have  happened,  I  did  not 
swear — nor  call  my  brethren  fools — nor  commit  suicide — 
nor  do  any  other  desperate  thing ;  but  I  saw  in  such  oc¬ 
currences  no  foreshadowing  of  a  temperance  millenium. 
Until  the  power  of  speech  fails  me,  and  my  palsied  fin¬ 
gers  can  no  longer  guide  a  pen,  I  shall  continue  to 
ring  in  the  ears,  and  place  before  the  eyes  of  my  fellow 
laborers  a  conviction  long  since  formed,  and  which  I 
have  often  pressed  on  their  attention,  that  every  attempt 
to  crush  the  entire  liquor  system  in  any  state,  until  the 
great  mass  of  those  who  believe  in  and  practice  absti¬ 
nence,  are  banded  together,  and  accustomed  to  work 
together  in  local  organizations,  will  prove  like  the  labor 
of  Sisyphus,  toiling  eternally  to  roll  up-hill  a  huge  stone, 
only  to  have  it  roll  back  upon  him  the  instant  his  fa¬ 
tigued  muscles  were  relaxed.  Zeal  and  devotion  are 
utterly  vain  in  any  cause,  where  the  essential  conditions 
of  success  are  not  complied  with.  Unorganized  masses 
of  men,  however  excellent  they  may  be  personally,  are 
of  small  account  in  a  battle.  But  one  citizen,  wdio  did 
not  belong  to  some  military  organization,  fought  with 
the  Union  forces  at  Gettysburg. 

It  was  painfully  apparent  to  me,  on  my  return  to 
Massachusetts,  that  the  efforts  of  those  interested  and 


INSTRUCTION  THE  GREAT  WANT. 


351 


active  in  the  temperance  cause  were  sadly  defective  in 
another  particular.  No  adequate  means  had  been  pro¬ 
vided  for  such  a  presentation  of  reformatory  truths  to 
the  people  as  would  command  the  attention  and  respect 
of  the  educated  and  influential  classes  of  society.  I 
urged,  therefore,  that  means  must  be  had  to  put  into 
the  field  additional  agencies  which  would  supply  what 
was  deficient.  It  was  evident  to  me,  that  one  of  the 
agents  of  the  society  should  be  a  first-class  man  of  the 
clerical  profession,  who  would  be  welcome  to  the  most 
influential  pulpits  of  the  state — as  were  Dr.  Justin  Ed¬ 
wards,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hewitt,  in  their  day.  Such  a 
servant  of  the  Alliance  could,  in  a  town  or  village  where 
were  two  or  three  churches,  occupy  the  pulpit  of  one  in 
the  morning,  of  another  in  the  afternoon,  and  of  a  third 
one  in  the  evening,  if  a  third  existed.  Thus,  by  his 
public  labor  and  his  intimate  relation  to  his  professional 
brethren,  he  would  contribute  to  identify  our  work  as 
closely  as  possible  with  the  permanent  religious  institu¬ 
tions  of  the  state — as  is  the  work  of  the  Bible  and  Tract 
Societies.  After  resting  a  day  or  two  from  the  fatigue 
of  his  severe  Sabbath  labor,  our  clerical  agent  could  fill 
other  appointments  during  the  remainder  of  the  week. 
It  seemed  as  clear  that  another  of  its  agents  should  be 
of  the  legal  profession,  whose  reputation  for  ability 
would  draw  full  houses,  and  who  could  instruct  the  peo¬ 
ple  in  his  discourses,  on  the  legal  phases  of  the  question, 
and  who  could  give  the  friends  of  the  cause,  in  private 
conferences,  safe  counsel  in  relation  to  any  legal  meas¬ 
ures  in  process  or  contemplated,  for  the  restraint  or 
suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  places  he  might 
visit.  Still  another,  it  was  quite  evident,  should  be  of 


362 


SENSATION  VERSUS  EDUCATION. 


the  medical  profession,  qualified  to  instruct  the' people 
in  regard  to  those  truths  of  natural  science  which  lie  at 
the  basis  of  the  enterprise. 

In  the  absence  of  some  one  better  qualified,  I  proposed 
to  undertake  that  service  myself. 

I  failed  altogether  to  impress  the  officers  of  the  Alii- 
ance  with  the  importance  of  my  suggestions  in  relation 
to  the  character  of  those  they  would  send  forth  as  pub¬ 
lic  teachers,  and  beside  myself  and  their  former  and 
faithful  agent,  Edwin  Thompson,  they  put  into  the  lecture 
field  two  recently  reformed  men,  whose  labors  were  more 
sensational  than  educational.  Both  of  them  have  since 
been  inmate’s  of  inebriate  asylums.  What  was  most 
needed  at  the- time  in  that  state,  was,  to  call  out  to  our 
meetings  and  identify  with  us  in  our  work,  the  educated 
and  strong  men  of  the  state, — those  who  give  character 
and  influence  to  every  movement  with  which  they  are 
connected.  Many  thousands  of  such  men  were  living 
in  Massachusetts  in  the  year  1858,  who  had  been  active 
in  the  cause  formerly,  but  who  for  various  reasons  were 
so  no  longer,  although  they  still  retained  the  old  hatred 
to  the  liquor  traffic  and  all  its  supports.  We  needed 
greatly  the  aid  and  cooperation  of  such  men.  It  could 
only  be  secured  by  measures  which  would  commend 
themselves  to  their  judgment  and  notions  of  propriety. 
Let  it  suffice  to  state,  that  they  were  not  won  to  our 
support  by  the  agencies  employed. 

If  in  the  retrospect  the  friends  of  temperance  in 
Massachusetts  cannot  detect  a  sufficient  amount  of 
blundering  in  our  operations  to  account  for  the  success¬ 
ful  introduction  of  half  a  score  of  giant  breweries 
among  them,  and  the  disgraceful  vacillations  of  their 


I 


WHAT  MIGHT  HAVE  BEEN. 


853 


Legislature  for  a  few  years  past,  there  is  no  hope  for 
them. 

Many  earnest  friends  tell  us  that  breweries  have  been 
introduced  and  our  legislation  is  unsatisfactory  because 
our  friends  have  not  carried  their  principles  to  the  polls 
as  they  ought,  and  the  suggestion  is  undoubtedly  true ; 
but  why  do  they  fail  in  reference  to  that  particular  now 
more  than  formerly  ?  When  the  question  of  license  or 
prohibition  depended  in  each  county  on  the  character 
and  action  of  three  public  officers,  the  County  Commis¬ 
sioners,  did  our  friends  fail  us  then  ?  I  trow  not.  If,  as 
happened  in  certain  counties,  the  regular  nominees  of 
neither  party  could  be  trusted,  they  called  temperance 
conventions,  nominated  true  men,  and  elected  them  over 
the  nominees  of  both  parties.  When,  in  those  days, 
temperance  called  for  votes,  as  well  as  talk,  it  got  them. 
What  influences  have  been  operating  to  divide  the  coun¬ 
cils,  abate  the  zeal,  and  lessen  the  devotion  of  our  rank 
and  file  below  the  old  standard  ?  The  reader  will  find 
my  answer  in  some  of  the  preceding  chapters. 

The  establishment  and  steady  support  in  the  state 
from  1858  to  the  present  hour  of  a  wise  system  of  edu¬ 
cational  temperance  efforts,  with  such  a  general  organ¬ 
ization  of  our  forces  as  existed  from  1835  to  1840,  would, 
ere  this,  have  rendered  a  public  brewery,  or  such  a 
shuffling,  compromising  Legislature  as  the  state  has 
been  cursed  with  for  a  few  years  past,  an  impossibility. 
The  labor  of  forming  a  Prohibitory  Party  could  have 
been  spared,  for  the  Republican  Party  would  never  have 
taken  a  backward  or  even  a  doubtful  step,  and  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  Party,  pledged  as  it  is  to  the  support  of  the  liquor 


354 


POVERTY  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 


system,  would  have  done  no  mischief,  through  lack  of 
power  and  opportunity. 

In  justice  to  the  officers  of  the  Alliance  it  should  be 
stated,  that  the  financial  resources  of  the  society  were 
limited ;  too  limited,  in  their  estimation,  doubtless,  to 
warrant  them  in  putting  into  the  lecture  field  such  men 
as  I  had  suggested.  It  was  not  for  me  to  press  my  own 
views  or  attempt  to  dictate  to  those  gentlemen,  being 
myself  but  a  paid  servant  of  the  society,  with  definite 
duties  before  me  ;  but,  with  my  views  of  the  needs  of 
the  cause  in  the  state  at  that  time,  it  was  to  me  a  source 
of  extreme  regret,  that  I  could  not  have  the  aid  in  the 
work  before  me,  of  such  men  as  I  could  have  selected  at 
the  time  from  among  the  citizens  of  the  state. 

There  has  been  in  my  opinion  no  time  since  1835,  if 
we  except  the  years  of  our  great  war,  when  the  judi¬ 
cious  expenditure  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  annually,  for 
six  successive  years,  in  the  organization  and  proper  tem¬ 
perance  education  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  or 
any  other  New  England  state, by  such  advocates  as  money 
could  have  secured,  and  by  the  liberal  distribution  of 
reformatory  publications  of  the  right  stamp,  would  not 
have  prepared  the  people  and  their  public  servants  for 
the  complete  and  final  overthrow  of  the  whole  liquor 
system.  But  that,  in  the  estimation  of  its  aggregate 
wisdom,  was  quite  too  much  to  pay  for  the  redemption 
of  the  state  from  its  greatest  scourge  and  curse,  and  the 
subsequent  certain  and  rapid  progress  therein,  of  every 
enterprise  which  can  contribute  to  render  a  people  great, 
good,  and  happy.  And  so  the  Christianity  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  employed  its  fifty  thousand  and  more,  annually, 
in  fighting  heathenism  and  false  religions  in  distant 


MISTAKES  OF  GOOD  MEN. 


355 


lands — an  excellent  work  undoubtedly — and  permitted 
the  home  manufacture  of  heathen,  by  thousands,  from 
its  own  sons,  while  they  had  ample  power  to  prevent  it. 

If  there  be,  in  ancient  or  modern  history,  any  record 
of  folly  more  astounding,  perpetrated  by  a  Christian 
state  in  connection  with  its  systematic  benevolence,  I 
should  be  glad  if  some  one  would  point  it  out.  Our 
ablest  men,  and  money  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  sent 
to  distant  regions,  and  a  home  enterprise,  declared  by 
the  utterances  of  our  great  religious  bodies,  Conferences, 
Consociations,  Synods,  and  General  Assemblies,  to  be  of 
primary  importance,  left  to  die  of  financial  starvation, 
or  so  feebly  supported  that  those  conducting  it  have  been 
compelled  to  employ  cheap  labor,  and  send  into  the  field 
third  rate  or  .sixth  rate  men,  to  present  to  the  people 
suffering  in  all  their  interests  from  a  present  and  terrible 
scourge,  the  nature  and  claims  of  a  remedial  system.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  remedial  measures 
awaiting  general  application  are  not  of  doubtful  efficacy, 
but  absolutely  certain  in  their  operation,  and  that  no 
instance  of  their  failure  to  remove  the  scourge ,  where  prop¬ 
erly  applied ,  has  yet  been  reported.  Hundreds  of  locali¬ 
ties  can  be  found  where  even  their  imperfect  but  steady 
employment  from  1830  to  1840  revolutionized  public 
opinion  and  the  social  customs  of  the  people,  crushed 
the  license  system,  and  drove  the  traffic  from  the  com¬ 
munity,  as  thoroughly  as  any  other  crime  or  system  of 
wrong  has  ever  been  driven  out  by  public  opinion  and 
the  will  .of  the  people  embodied  in  law.  As  examples, 
I  will  refer  to  more  than  half  the  towns  in  Barnstable 
and  Plymouth  counties  of  Massachusetts ;  to  more  than 
one-tliird  of  the  towns  in  Essex,  Bristol,  Norfolk,  Wor- 


35G 


WHY  IS  IT  PERMITTED. 


cester,  and  Hampshire  counties,  of  that  state ;  to  many 
towns  in  the  states  of  Connecticut,  Maine,  and  Vermont, 
and  to  Suffolk  county,  Long  Island.  If,  in  some  of  these 
localities,  the  traffic  has  been  again  introduced,  and  a 
laxity  of  public  sentiment  now  prevails  in  relation  to  the 
use  of  intoxicants,  it  is  not  because  the  remedial  meas¬ 
ures  once  so  potent  have  lost  their  efficacy,  but  because 
they  are  altogether  neglected,  or  are  no  longer  employed 
as  they  were  ivhen  effective. 

With  such  a  remedial  system  known  to  the  Christian 
people  of  the  land,  why  has  this  most  terrible  curse  of 
modern  times  been  permitted  to  remain  and  to  gather 
from  among  the  youth  of  our  country  its  thousands  of 
victims  annually  ? 

It  is  not  from  ignorance  on  the  part  of  American 
Christians  of  the  existence  and  terrible  extent  of  the 
evil.  From  the  day  when  the  writings  of  Lyman  Beecher, 
Justin  Edwards,  Bev.  Dr.  Hewitt,  Jonathan  Kittredge, 
Asaliel  Nettleton,  Heman  Humphrey,  L.  M.  Sargent, 
Wilber  Fisk,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Wayland,  reached  the  clergy, 
were  scattered  among  the  churches  and  became  a  part 
of  our  Christian  literature,  there  has  been  no  hour  when 
the  traffic  in  and  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  have  not 
been  regarded  by  the  great  mass  of  intelligent  Christian 
people  as  the  greatest  evil  in  our  country,  with  perhaps 
the  exception  of  slavery,  which  has  passed  away.  No, 
it  is  not  ignorance  of  the  existence,  extent,  nature,  and 
causes  of  the  evil. 

Can  it  be,  that  the  descendants  of  a  heroic  ^ancestry 
find  more  congenial  employment  in  fighting  with  heathen¬ 
ism  and  false  religions  abroad,  which  cannot  possibly 
strike  back,  so  as  to  endanger  the  property  and  persons 


A  “  NEW  DEPARTURE”  SUGGESTED.  857 

or  the  ease  and  comfort  of  American  Christians,  than 
to  engage  an  enemy  at  home  which  erects  its  batteries 
in  the  sight  of  our  churches,  and  openly  defies  all  the 
armies  of  the  Living  God  on  this  continent !  Must  we 
entertain  a  supposition  so  derogatory  to  Protestant 
Christianity  in  this  nineteenth  century  ?  Before  we  do 
so,  let  one  more  measure  be  adopted,  one  more  experi¬ 
ment  tried. 

Let  the  great  religious  bodies  already  referred  to  take 
a  “  New  Departure  ”  in  relation  to  this  great  question, 
and  instead  of  contenting  themselves,  as  heretofore,  with 
passing  resolutions  approving  the  doctrine  and  practice 
of  total  abstinence,  or  declaring  the  immorality  of  the 
liquor  traffic,  or  even  the  necessity  for  the  legal  prohi¬ 
bition  of  it, — let  them  declare  to  the  churches  and  the 
individual  Christians  of  the  land  the  undoubted  and  im¬ 
portant  truth,  that  the  unparalleled  progress,  if  not  the 
early  and  complete  triumph  of  many  other  excellent, 
benevolent,  and  Christian  enterprises  of  this  age,  only 
awaits  the  removal  of  intemperance ,  and  that  a  result  -so 
desirable  is  entirely  within  our  reach  ;  and  let  them  in¬ 
augurate  some  system  of  measures  through  which  the 
aggregate  Christianity  of  the  land  can  unitedly  assail  it. 

Now  that  Slavery  is  dead,  and  the  worse  than  heath¬ 
enish  system  of  Polygamy  is  dying  of  railroad  rot  and 
the  faithful  execution  of  just  laws,  let  them  point  the 
churches  of  the  land  to  the  liquor  traffic  and  the  drink¬ 
ing  usages  of  society,  as  the  next  great  line  of  satanic 
entrenchments  to  be  carried,  and  sound  the  trumpet  for 
the  charge.  Then,  if  the  churches  and  individual  Chris¬ 
tians  of  the  land  who  are  now  active  in  many  other  good 


358  WILL  YOU  ATTEND  TO  IT,  SIR? 

works,  do  not  move  at  their  call  on  the  enemy’s  works, 
we  shall  be  compelled  to  choose  between  two  most  dam¬ 
aging  conclusions — either  that  the  love  of  artificial  stim¬ 
ulants  is  stronger  with  American  Christians  than  their 
love  for  God  and  man,  or,  that  they  are  a  set  of  arrant 
cowards,  choosing  to  fight  at  long  range  unanswering 
batteries,  rather  than  to  engage  at  close  quarters  the  de¬ 
fiant  and  deadly  enemy  of  all  public  and  sacred  inter¬ 
ests,  entrenched  in  their  own  villages  and  in  sight  of 
their  own  homes. 

Our  great  ecclesiastical  assemblies  are  looked  to  by 
the  churches  of  the  land  to  point  out  to  them  the  most 
promising  fields  for  Christian  enterprise,  to  suggest  ap¬ 
propriate  employment  for  our  Christian  activities.  This 
they  frequently  do,  and  their  suggestions  have  always 
been  respected  and  responded  to. 

Perhaps  appropriate  action  on  their  part  is  all  that  is 
needed  to  inaugurate  some  grand  system  of  operations 
in  which  all  Christian  people  could  heartily  unite,  and 
to  the  support  of  which,  financially,  all  sects  and  de¬ 
nominations  will  give  as  freely  as  they  now  do  for  edu¬ 
cational  purposes  and  Christian  missions. 

In  behalf  of  a  great,  beneficent,  but  imperiled  enter¬ 
prise,  I  implore  the  clergy  and  Christian  laymen  con¬ 
nected  with  our  various  religious  sects,  who  judge  my 
complaints  well  founded  and  my  suggestion  wise,  to  see 
to  it,  that  at  the  next  general  assemblage  of  your  clergy 
and  the  representatives  of  your  several  churches,  that 
this  subject  comes  squarely  before  them,  not  for  expres¬ 
sions  of  opinion  merely,  but  for  the  forming  and  adop¬ 
tion  of  some  grand  system  of  measures  commensurate 


WILL  YOU  ATTEND  TO  IT,  SIR?  359 

in  extent  and  power  with  the  enemy  to  he  assailed ;  a 
system  which  all  good  men  can  aid  in  carrying  out. 
Then  the  doom  of  our  modern  Moloch  is  sealed.  It 
cannot  withstand  the  united  assault  of  the  American 
churches,  added  to  the  organized  forces  now  arrayed 
against  it. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Million  Fund — Massachusetts  Alliance — Old  Dr.  Beecher — To 

the  West  again — Thurlow  W.  Brown. 

To  one  who  has  watched  the  progress  of  the  temper¬ 
ance  enterprise  from  its  origin,  in  1826,  it  is  interesting 
to  recall  the  various  expedients  resorted  to,  at  different 
periods,  to  supply  needed  funds — to  meet  a  want  which 
should  have  been  provided  for  in  the  outset  by  the  orig¬ 
inators  of  ' the  reform  movement.  In  the  conduct  of  no 
other  enterprise  of  this  age  lias  the  'financial  department 
been  so  unworthily  managed,  especially  during  the  first 
fifteen  years  of  its  progress.  All  our  local  organiza¬ 
tions,  prior  to  the  revolutions  of  1840-41,  had  each  a 
treasurer,  but  no  sensible  provision  had  been  incorporat¬ 
ed  into  their  working  plan  to  supply  him  with  needed 
funds,  and  so  the  officers  of  the  society  had  to  pay  cur¬ 
rent  expenses  or  resort  to  the  contribution  box  at  the 
close  of  public  meetings — a  very  unreliable  resource. 
After  the  passage  of  the  prohibitory  law,  in  1852,  the 
need  of  funds  became  more  pressing  than  at  previous 
periods.  To  secure  its  successful  enforcement,  able 
legal  counsel  would  be  required  and  other  auxiliary 
agencies  which  money  only  could  command.  In  this 
emergency,  a  very  earnest  and  energetic  friend  of  the 
cause,  B.  Dunbar,  from  Bristol  county,  proposed,  at  a 
State  Convention  held  in  Tremont  Temple,  Boston,  in 
May,  1853,  to  raise,  by  subscription,  a  fund  of  one  mil- 

(360) 


THE  MILLION  FUND. 


361 


lion  dollars,  to  be  taxed  annually  at  such  rate  as  the 
exigencies  of  the  times  might  require,  the  tax  not  to  ex¬ 
ceed,  however,  three  per  cent,  during  any  year.  The 
amount  which  might  be  thus  obtained  was  to  be  expend¬ 
ed  under  the  direction  of  the  State  Temperance  Com¬ 
mittee,  to  aid  in  the  proper  enforcement  of  the  law. 
The  proposition  was  carried  in  the  Convention,  and  a 
committee  raised  to  secure  subscriptions  to  the  “  Million 
Fund,”  as  it  was  termed.  Dunbar  was  appointed  chair¬ 
man,  and  a  better  one  could  not  have  been  found  in  the 
state.  He  was  a.  mechanic  of  limited  education  but  of 
indomitable  energy,  of  unquestioned  integrity,  imperturb¬ 
able  good  nature,  and  a  zeal  which  knew  no  bounds, 
and,  withal,  a  man  who  never  seemed  to  have  learned 
the  meaning  of  the  word  failure ,  whether  in  reference 
to  a  public  or  a  private  enterprise. 

His  movements  in  relation  to  any  matter  of  interest 
would  be  likely  to  recall  to  any  one  who  had  ever  read 
them,  the  lines  of  a  humorous  English  poet  in  reference 
to  the  wonderful  assurance  of  a  genuine  live  Yankee, 
his  penchant  for  pricing  everything  lie  sees,  and  other 
corresponding  traits : 

“  He’d  kiss  the  Queen  ‘till  he  raised  a  blister. 

With  his  arm  round  her  neck  and  his  old  felt  hat  on ! 

He’d  address  the  King  by  the  title  of  6  mister,’ 

And  ask  him  the  price  of  the  throne  he  sat  on.” 

Such  a  man  makes  a  first  rate  chairman  of  a  financial 
committee,  and  Dunbar  secured,  in  Bristol  county  alone, 
as  1  have  been  informed,  subscriptions  for  more  than 
three-fourths  of  the  whole  amount.  Whether  the  full 
million  was  obtained  I  am  not  informed,  but  the  annual 
id 


362 


MASSACHUSETTS  ALLIANCE. 


tax  on  the  amount  raised  constituted  for  years  the  most 
reliable  and  considerable  support  of  temperance  efforts 
in  Massachusetts.  A  remnant  of  that  fund  still  remains, 
it  seems,  and  is  taxed  as  formerly.  While  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  the  financial  support  of  temperance  operations, 
the  following  exhibit  of  the  receipts  of  the  Massachu¬ 
setts  Temperance  Alliance  for  the  year  1871,  may  inter¬ 
est  the  reader.  I  clip  it  from  the  Annual  Report  of 
that  society,  kindly  sent  me  by  its  secretary,  Rev.  Wm. 
Thayer. 

FINANCIAL  EXHIBIT 


For  the  Year  endinu  September  30,  1871. 


1870. 


balance  on  hand, 

-  $130.48 

from  Million  Fund,  - 

75.00 

from  life  members, 

745.00 

from  donations, 

4,804.00 

from  Alliance  members, 

-  5,923.68 

from  sales  at  office,  - 

324.49 

from  collections, 

51.83 

from  room  letting;, 

91.77 

from  borrowed  money,  - 

-  512.99 

-$12,659.24 


It  flatters  what  the  reader  may  call  my  vanity,  if  he 
chooses,  to  perceive  that  the  most  considerable  amount 
in  the  foregoing  exhibit  comes  from  the  dollar  member¬ 
ship  plan  intr educed  at  my  suggestion  in  1840,  and 
which,  though  abandoned  on  the  breaking  down  of  the 
“  Temperance  Union,”  as  described  in  Chap.  IX,  has 
been  resuscitated  by  the  Alliance,  and  is  now  its  most 
reliable  means  of  support. 

During  the  years  1858  and  ’59,  I  met  frequently  in 


DR.  LYMAN  BEECHER. 


363 


the  Committee  Room  of  the  Alliance,  that  old  intellec¬ 
tual  Giant  and  early  champion  of  the  reform,  Dr.  Lyman 
Beecher.  I 'had  never  known  him  personally  at  the  pe¬ 
riod  of  his  greatest  strength,  but  it  was  a  rare  privilege 
to  meet  and  confer  with  him  in  his  old  age.  Occasion¬ 
ally  something  would  occur  to  excite  the  old  veteran  and 
rekindle  for  the  moment  the  fires  of  an  earlier  period, 
and  it  was  worth  a  journey  to  Boston  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  see  and  hear  him  then. 

At  one  of  the  prayer  meetings  held  at  the  Old  South 
Church,  he  gave  a  terrible  shock  to  the  usual  decorum 
which  characterized  those  meetings,  by  a  burst  of  en¬ 
thusiasm  over  the  Maine  Law. 

He  had  pictured,  as  he  only  could,  the  conflict  which 
had  been  going  on  in  the  Universe  for  centuries,  between 

0 

the  powers  of  light  and  darkness,  of  good  and  evil,  and 
the  anxiety  and  dismay  which  he,  as  well  as  millions 
of  others,  had  felt  at  times,  notwithstanding  their  trust 
in  God  and  the  promises  o£  His  word,  in  view  of  the 
fierceness  of  the  struggle  and  the  seeming  advantage 
sometimes  gained  by  the  powers  of  evil.  “  But,  breth¬ 
ren,”  said  he,  “  let  us  rejoice,  and  be  glad,  for  the  pow¬ 
ers  of  hell  are  just  now  in  dismay.  That  Glorious 
Maine  Law  was  a  square  and  grand  blow  right  between 
the  very  horns  of  the  Devil,  and  from  the  moment  of  its 
reception  I  seem  to  see  him  falling  back — stubborn  and 
terrible,  but  falling  back  !  and  the  consecrated  host  of 
God’s  elect  pressing  close  upon  him !”  While  thus  giv¬ 
ing  vent  to  emotions  too  strong  for  words  alone  to  ex¬ 
press,  the  grand  old  man  wras  advancing  on  the  floor, 
swinging  his  big  cane  with  a  powerful  energy,  which 
showed  very  clearly  the  spirit  in  which  lie  would  fight 


364 


TO  THE  WEST  AGAIN. 


the  biggest  devil  in  existence*  had  he  been  there.  He 
wound  up  magnificently.  “  So  it  shall  be  brethren — 
I  believe  it — I  see  it — they  will  crowd  him  back,  and 
crowd  him  back  —  (still  advancing  and  swinging  his 
cane) — until  they  shall  push  him  over  the  battlements, 
and  send  him  back  to  the  Hell  from  which  he  came  forth  ! 
and  then  shall  come  up  from  a  redemed  earth  the  shout : 
Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest,  and  on  earth  peace  and 
good  will  to  men  !” 

The  old  man  has  left  us  in  his  family  some  grand 
representatives  of  his  intellect,  his  brilliant  imagination, 
courage,  and  zeal  in  good  enterprises,  but  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  one,  or  all  of  them  ever  knew,  or  can  know,  until 
they  have  been  two  or  three  centuries  in  Heaven,  that 
tempest  of  grand  emotions  which  sometimes  swelled  the 
great  soul  of  Lyman  Beecher. 

Having  become  convinced,  after  a  trial  of  some 
months,  that  such  a  reorganization  of  our  forces  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts  as  I  had  contemplated,  was  for  the  time  imprac¬ 
ticable,  I  resigned  my  agency  and  returned  to  the  West. 
During  the  year  1860  I  labored  in  Wisconsin  under  the 
direction  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Temperance  Society,  vis¬ 
iting  and  lecturing  in  all  the  cities  and  large  towns  of  the 
state.  I  was  greatly  aided  in  my  labor  by  Mr.  George 
E.  Sickles,  who  has  exerted  a  very  decided  influence  in 
favor  of  the  cause  for  more  than  thirty  years,  in  various 
capacities  and  in  different  sections  of  the  country.  lie 
was  with  us  in  the  early  campaigns  in  Massachusetts — 
and  recently,  as  a  financial  agent  of  the  National  Tem¬ 
perance  Society,  has  rendered  to  it  essential  service. 

During  the  year,  and  while  delivering  a  course  of  lec¬ 
tures  in  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 


JOINS  THE  “  GOOD  TEMPLARS.” 


365 


number  of  earnest  brethren  who  were  warring  upon  the 
common  enemy  through  an  organization  then  quite  new 
to  me,  the  ‘  Good  Templars.”  I  was  earnestly  invited 
to  become  a  member  of  the  Order,  and  was  there  initi¬ 
ated  into  its  mysteries.  It  seemed  to  me  at  the  time  a 
work  of  supererogation,  if  not  very  like  a  joke,  to  put 
an  old  servant  of  the  cause  who  had  advocated  temper¬ 
ance  by  tongue  and  pen  before  three-fourths  of  those  in 
the  Hall  were  born,  through  the  ceremony  of  initiation 
into  a  temperance  society,  pledging  to  the  practice  of 
abstinence,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  one  who  had 
practiced  it  for  very  many  years,  and  devoted  more 
hours  to  the  advocacy  of  temperance  than  any  man  in 
the  United  States.  No  harm  could  come  of  it,  however, 
and  so  I  pledged  anew  to  the  cause  under  the  forms  of 
that  Order,  as  I  had  done  nearly  twenty  years  before, 
when  joining  the  Sons  of  Temperance. 

While  yet  engaged  in  Milwaukee,  the  Good  Templars 
of  the  city  addressed  a  circular  to  the  local  Lodges 
throughout  the  State,  informing  them  of  my  connection 
with  the  Order,  and  commending  me  to  their  confidence 
and  fraternal  regard ;  and  urging  them  to  secure  me,  as 
far  as  possible,  an  audience  with  the  people.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  my  usefulness  in  the  state  was  thereby  pro¬ 
moted.  .  Since  that  date,  I  have,  at  different  periods, 
served  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Vermont,  and  very  many  local  lodges  in  other  states,  as 
well  as  very  many  Divisions  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance; 
and  I  have  always,  with  one  single  exception,  received, 
not  only  from  the  officials  of  those  organizations,  but 
from  their  rank  and  file,  the  utmost  kindness  and  con¬ 
sideration. 


366 


THURLOW  W.  BROWN. 


A  man  may,  without  any  sacrifice  of  principle  or  self- 
respect,  advocate  a  great  cause  without  a  specific  endorse¬ 
ment  or  any  special  advocacy  of  all  the  forms  or  ma¬ 
chinery  employed  to  advance  it  in  the  locality  where  he 
may  happen  to  be  laboring.  A  Presbyterian  or  a  Con- 
gregationalist  may  preach  Christ  acceptably  and  faith¬ 
fully  from  a  Methodist  pulpit,  without  yielding  his  own 
peculiar  views  of  Christian  doctrine  or  church  govern¬ 
ment,  or  assailing  those  of  his  Methodist  brethren.  To 
do  the  former,  might  show  a  want  of  fidelity  to  his  con¬ 
victions  ;  to  do  the  latter,  would  certainly  prove  him 
wanting  in  courtesy. 

During  my  labor  in  Wisconsin  I  visited  the  home  of 
that  able  champion  of  temperance,  Thurlow  W.  Brown. 
Although  his  usefulness  was  marred  by  some  eccentrici¬ 
ties,  which  were  undoubtedly  due  to  the  infirm  state  of 
his  health,  he  was  a  most  faithful  and  earnest  advocate 
of  our  especial  doctrines  for  many  years.  The  grand 
truths  connected  with  some  phases  of  the  enterprise, 
have  never  been  more  ably  presented  than  in  some  of 
the  leading  articles  of  the  “  Wisconsin  Chief,”  while 
under  his  control. 

With  faculties  of  observation  unusually  keen,  a  bril¬ 
liant  imagination,  strong  logical  powers,  a  rare  com¬ 
mand  of  language,  an  iron  will,  and  a  hatred  of  the 
whole  liquor  system  as  intense  as  ever  glowed  in  a 
human  soul,  he  contributed  largely  to  mould  the  public 
sentiment  of  his  time.  Ilis  influence  was  widely  ex¬ 
tended  and  beneficent. 

During  the  year  1862,  I  labored  in  the  state  of  Illi¬ 
nois,  and  notwithstanding  our  great  war  was  then  in 
progress,  engrossing  largely  the  thoughts  and  energies 


THE  CAUSE  AT  THE  WEST. 


367 


of  the  people,  I  generally  addressed  good  audiences. 
As  the  population  of  our  western  states  comprises  a 
larger  portion  of  young  men,  or  those  in  the  most 
active  period  of  life,  all  movements  and  enterprises 
there  are  characterized  by  a  greater  measure  of  energy 
than  in  the  older  states.  If  sometimes  that  energy  and 
the  fiery  zeal  that  prompts  it,  should,  in  the  estimation 
of  our  eastern  people,  assume  the  appearance  of  rash¬ 
ness,  it  would  be  no  matter  for  surprise.  The  cause  is 
not  sustained,  financially,  at  the  west,  as  in  the  New 
England  States,  for  the  people  are  not  generally  so 
wealthy.  Close  organizations  are  almost  the  only  ones 
existing  there,  and  although  they  break  down  from  time 
to  time  in  particular  localities,  as  other  temperance 
organizations  are  wont  to  do,  yet  the  pressing  need  of 
organized  opposition  to  the  liquor  system  soon  prompts 
to  their  renewal.  They  embrace  in  the  rural  districts 
a  larger  portion  of  the  clergy  and  influential  Christian 
laymen,  than  kindred  societies  in  the  older  States.  Only 
a  portion  of  those,  however,  who  practice  abstinence 
from  intoxicants,  and  hate  the  liquor  traffic,  are  organ¬ 
ized.  Tliey  never  can  be  while  our  organizations  retain 
their  present  forms  and  features,  and  the  triumph  of  our 
cause  there,  awaits  the  coming  of  that  measure  of  prac¬ 
tical  wisdom  which  can  organize  and  employ  all  our 
available  force.  A  determined  effort  to  secure  the 
prohibition  of  the  traffic  by  law,  is  now  being  made  in 
Illinois,  by  separate  or  independent  political  action  on 
the  part  of  the  friends  of  temperance.  Whether  they 
will  succeed  in  obtaining  a  controlling  majority,  or  in 
influencing  the  dominant  political  party  to  add  prohibi¬ 
tion  as  a  plank  in  their  political  platform,  time  only  can 


368  CAN  YOU  HELP  THEM  TO  SEE  IT?  TRY. 

determine.  From  facts  which  have  come  to  light  and 
obtained  publicity,  it  would  seem  that  the  elements  of 
intoxication  played  no  minor  part  in  the  great  calamity 
which  has  so  recently  befallen  Chicago.  It  would  be 
very  extraordinary  if  it  did  not,  for  it  is  an  important 
agent  in  the  production  of  at  least  three-fourths  of  the 
ordinary  casualties  which  occur,  and  seven-eighths  of 
the  great  calamities  which  afflict  our  country. 

While  laboring  in  Illinois,  with  my  residence  in  Chi¬ 
cago,  I  had  noticed  from  time  to  time  in  the  religious  pa¬ 
pers,  articles  from  the  pens  of  earnest  friends  of  temper¬ 
ance,  who  were  troubled  in  view  of  its  slow  and  unsatis¬ 
factory  progress,  and  were  laboring  to  solve  the  problem 
of  its  causation.  A  careful  perusal  of  those  articles 
convinced  me  that  their  authors  had  not  studied  the 
subject  sufficiently  to  see  clearly  the  sources  of  the  mis¬ 
chief  they  deplored,  and  were  seeking  to  remedy.  I  had 
the  vanity  to  believe  that  I  could  help  my  brethren  to 
see  clearly  what  was  wanted,  and  therefore  published 
my  views  of  the  subject  in  a  pamphlet  (to  which  I  have 
had  occasion  to  refer  in  another  chapter)  entitled  : — 
“  The  Temperance  Cause,  Past,  Present,  and  Future ; 
or — Why  we  are,  Where  we  are,”  in  reference  to  the 
enterprise.  I  sent  about  two  hundred  copies  of  it  to 
leading  men  in  different  parts  of  the  country  who  had 
distinguished  themselves  by  great  devotion  to  the  cause, 
and  through  a  note  which  I  addressed  to  them  individu¬ 
ally,  solicited  their  opinion  of  the  truthfulness  of  my 
historical  statements,  of  the  doctrines  I  had  advanced, 
and  of  the  practical  suggestions  contained  in  the  con¬ 
cluding  chapter  of  the  work.  I  received  a  pile  of  letters 
from  distinguished  men,  scholars  divines  and  philan- 


MY  ENDORSERS. 


SG9 


thropists,  including  among  them  the  Presidents  of  three 
colleges,  and  such  men  as  Benjamin  Silliman,  Senior, 
of  Yale  College,  L.  M.  Sargent,  John  Pierpont,  Gerrit 
Smith,  E.  C.  Delevan,  James  Black,  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes  of 
Hartford,  Rev.  Jacob  lde  of  Massachusetts,  and  many 
other  distinguished  men,  and  from  all  I  got  substan¬ 
tially  but  one  answer  ; — you  are  right  in  the  views  ex 
pressed. 

Notwithstanding  such  endorsement  of  my  views  by 
many  of  the  wisest  men  of  our  times,  the  great  mass  of 
our  active  reformers  have  still  gone  forward,  reenacting 
the  blunders  which  have  hindered  our  progress,  just  as 
though  they  had  never  been  pointed  out.  It  is,  to  say  the 
least,  very  unfortunate  that  those  engaged  in  a  great  and 
good  work  should  ignore  the  teachings  of  experience, 
and  persist  in  going  ahead  on  ill-considered  plans.  Most 
of  the  points  argued  at  length  in  the  work  referred  to, 
are  reconsidered  in  the  foregoing  chapters ;  some  at 
considerable  length,  others  very  briefly.  As  to  the 
practical  suggestions  contained  in  this  volume,  I  hope 
my  fellow  laborers  will  heed  them,  or  prove  to  the  world 
by  a  courteous  discussion  of  them  through  some  fitting 
channel,  that  they  are  unwise.  For  one,  I  should  be 
glad  if  we  could  have  a  convention  of  the  leaders  of  the 
enterprise  from  all  sections  of  the  country,  at  some  con¬ 
venient  and  central  point,  to  continue  in  session  ten 
days  or  a  fortnight,  if  need  be,  to  consider  the  practical 
methods  of  securing  an  united  movement  of  all  good 
men,  and  all  good  influences,  to  stay  the  plague  of  in¬ 
temperance  in  the  land. 

During  all  the  weary  years  of  our  great  war,  no  pro¬ 
gress  was  made  toward  annihilating  the  drink  scourge r 


870 


THE  DROVER. — BLOOD. 


but,  on  the  contrary,  that  struggle  manifested  the  power 
of  intoxicants  to  work  mischief,  in  ways  and  to  an  ex¬ 
tent  unknown  to  us  before.  On  many  a  bloody  field, 
thousands  of  brave  men  went  quickly  down  to  death 
through  the  blunders  of  intoxicated  officers.  It  was  to 
be  expected  that  drunkenness  would  increase  in  time  of 
war.  Liquor  sellers  always  calculate  on  increased  sales 
and  extra  profits  during  seasons  of  great  excitement, 
even  though  that  excitement  be  caused  by  the  results  of 
their  own  nefarious  business. 

A  sad  case  illustrative  of  that  truth,  occurred  in  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  during  the  year  1840.  A  citizen  of  Maine 
reached  the  great  cattle  market  of  Brighton,  a  few  miles 
from  Boston — sold  his  drove,  and  the  proceeds  soon 
found  their  way  into  the  pockets  of  the  liquor  sellers 
and  gamblers  of  the  town.  Shame,  sorrow,  and  finan¬ 
cial  embarrassment  were  of  course  the  results.  Still 
deeper  drinking  was  now  resorted  to,  to  benumb  his 
faculties,  render  him  insensible  to  the  pangs  of  re¬ 
morse,  and  to  dissipate  troublesome  thoughts  relative  to 
the  future  consequences  to  his  family  and  creditors,  of 
his  guilt  and  folly.  He  went  to  his  room  in  the  “  Cattle 
Fair  Hotel,”  it  was  directly  over  the  bar-room,  and  in  a 
paroxysm  of  drunken  frenzy  cut  his  throat.  The  smok¬ 
ing  blood  of  the  wretched  man  found  its  way  through 
the  imperfect  floor  of  his  room  and  through  cracks  in 
the  plastering  beneath,  and  trickled  down  upon  the  bar¬ 
room  floor.  Those  present,  startled  at  the  sight,  rushed 
up  to  the  room  above,  burst  open  the  door,  which  he 
had  fastened,  only  to  witness  the  speedy  death  of  the 
wretched  man  who  in  his  desperation  had  severed  com¬ 
pletely  the  great  arteries  of  his  neck. 


INFATUATION. 


371 


Doctor  Whittemore,  a  physician  of  the  town,  who  had 
been  hastily  summoned  as  soon  as  the  terrible  event  had 
become  known,  informed  me,  that  as  -the  news  of  the 
affair  flew  abroad  an  unusual  crowd  gathered  at  the 
hotel  to  learn  the  distressing  particulars,  and  that  an  ex¬ 
tra  hand  was  required  at  the  bar  to  furnish  liquors  to  the 
company. 

The  doctor  stated  to  me  that  he  repeatedly  saw  men 
leave  their  seats  in  that  bar-room,  for  another  drink, 
when  they  had,  in  their  short  journey  to  the  bar,  to  turn 
aside  from  a  straight  course  to  avoid  the  pool  of  blood 
on  the  floor — blood  which  they  knew  had  just  flowed  from 
the  gaping  and  ghastly  wounds  of  a  liquor-crazed  suicide. 
Is  there  any  other  matter  known  to  you,  reader,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  which  men  become  so  strangely  infatuated, 
as  they  do  in  the  use  of  intoxicants  ? 

Nothing  worthy  of  special  remark  occurred  in  con¬ 
nection  with  my  labor  for  the  furtherance  .of  the  cause, 
during  or  after  the  close  of  the  war,  until  the  year  1867. 
Prior  to  that  date,  central  Iowa  had  been  the  extreme 
limit  of  my  journeyings  toivard  the  west — which  I  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  reach. 

At  the  date  named,  I  received  an  invitation  to  spend 
a  few  months  in  Kansas.  I  think  the  temperance  senti¬ 
ment  is  stronger,  and  pervades  society  more  generally 
in  that  State  than  in  any  of  the  States  I  have  visited  west 
of  the  great  lakes,  if  we  except  Iowa,  which  has  reached 
and  maintained  a  very  advanced  position  in  connection 
with  the  cause. 

While  laboring  in  Kansas,  an  incident  occurred  which 
all  friends  of  reform  will  regard  as  most  fortunate,  and 
which  as  strongly  as  almost  any  recorded  fact  of  modern 


372 


A  JUST  LAW. 


times,  warrants  a  belief  that  God  does  now  occasion¬ 
ally,  as  in  former  times,  discomfit  the  enemies  of  truth 
and  justice  and  encourage  the  faithful  by  special  or  ex¬ 
ceptional  arrangements  of  his  Divine  Providence.  The 
Legislature  of  Kansas  was  in  session  at  Topeka,  and  we 
were  holding  there  a  State  Temperance  Convention. 
The  railroad  by  which  a  large  portion  of  our  temperance 
delegations  reached  the  place,  was  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Kansas,  while  Topeka  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
The  bridge  which  had  formerly  spanned  the  river  had 
been  swept  away,  and  we  had  crossed  the  swollen  stream 
in  boats.  During  the  session  of  the  convention  a  bill 
had  been  introduced  into  the  legislature  for  the  control 
or  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic,  with  a  novel  but  very 
just  provision,  that  no  license  should  be  granted  to  any 
individual  to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  within  the  state, 
-  until  the  party  applying  for  license  should  present  to  the 
proper  authorities  a  petition  for  the  same,  signed  by  a 
majority  of  the  adult  citizens,  both  male  and  female,  of 
his  district,  or  if  in  a  city,  the  ward  in  which  he  pro¬ 
posed  to  engage  in  the  business.  It  was  argued,  and 
with  decided  ability  and  force,  that  wherever  tolerated, 
the  results  of  the  traffic  would  be  sure  to  put  in  peril 
the  safety  and  happiness  of  the  mothers,  wives,  and 
daughters  of  that  locality,  and  that  therefore  they  ought 
certainly  to  have  a  voice  in  deciding  whether  it  should 
there  be  allowed  or  not,  and  all  the  more  so,  as  they 
could  not,  at  tiie  polls  or  otherwise,  render  their  wishes 
or  wills  potential  in  the  matter,  except  by  such  a  pro¬ 
vision.  The  bill  was  of  course  opposed  at  every  stage 
of  its  progress,  by  the  friends  of  the  liquor  system,  but 


A  PREDICAMENT. 


373 


they  were  few  and  feeble  in  that  legislature,  and  it 
seemed  quite  evident  that  it  would  become  a  law. 

In  this  emergency  a  dispatch  was  sent  over  the  wires 
to  the  liquor  traders  of  Leavenworth,  the  great  center  of 
the  liquor  interest  for  Kansas,  stating  the  condition  of 
tilings  at  the  capitol,  and  urging  them  to  come  on  with 
all  available  speed  and  appliances,  to  check,  if  possible, 
the  impending  disaster.  The  liquor  fraternity  were 
thoroughly  alarmed,  and  a  full  car-load  of  them  reached 
the  depot  at  Topeka,  the  morning  after  they  received  the 
notice,  confident  that  by  such  influences  as  they  might 
bring  to  bear  on  the  members  of  the  House  or  Senate, 
they  could  prevent  the  passage*  of  the  bill.  But  here 
they  learned  the  truth  of  the  Divine  word,  “The  expec¬ 
tation  of  the  wicked  shall  perish.”  Alas  1  It  had  hap¬ 
pened  that  during  the  night  the  ice  in  a  tributary  of  the 
Kansas,  the  Republican  Fork,  had  broken  up,  and  was 
being  whirled  along  toward  the  Missouri  at  a  rate  which 
rendered  it  impossible  to  cross  the  river  in  a  boat.  Not 
all  the  blood-money  in  those  liquor-sellers’  pockets,  and 
they  were  well  lined  undoubtedly,  could  tempt  a  boat¬ 
man  to  risk  his  boat  and  life  in  an  attempt  to  cross. 
They  fumed,  and  raved,  and  swore  worse  than  did  a  cer¬ 
tain  famous  army  in  Flanders,  but  all  in  vain.  They  wore 
compelled  to  remain  in  plain  sight  of  the  State  House, 
while  the  bill  passed  through  the  several  stages  and  was 
enacted  an  overwhelming  majority  in  both  branches, 
and  received  the  signature  of  the  Governor.  The  tem¬ 
perance  convention,  in  the  mean  time,  had  finished  its 
business'and  adjourned,  but  as  the  river  was  impassable 
a  large  portion  of  the  delegates  were  compelled  to  re¬ 
main,  and  so  it  was  concluded  that  we  would  have  a 


374 


A  GOOD  TIME. 


grand  glorification  over  the  passage  of  the  new  law.  It 
was  held  in  the  Representatives’  Chamber,  and  a  hap¬ 
pier  group  than  there  assembled  I  have  never  met.  It 
was  one  of  those  occasions  on  which  a  man  with  a  toler¬ 
ably  keen  nervous  system,  lives  very  fast,  without  artifi¬ 
cial  stimulants.  * 

Learning,  when  the  river  became  passable,  that  they 
could  effect  nothing  by  crossing,  the  liquor-sellers  took 
the  earliest  train  homeward,  pondering,  no  doubt,  on 
the  probabilities  of  success  in  getting  a  future  license, 
when  the  women  of  their  district  must  be  consulted  in 
relation  to  the  matter. 

Thus,  to  the  young  state  of  Kansas  belongs  the  honor 
of  having  first  accorded  to  woman,  the  greatest  sufferer 
from  the  liquor  system,  a  potential  voice  in  reference  to 
its  continuance  or  suppression. 

The  winter  of  1868-9  I  spent  in  Ohio,  a  part  of  the 
time  in  the  employment  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Good 
Templars  for  that  State,  and  the  remainder  in  delivering 
courses  of  lectures,  on  private  contract  with  the  breth¬ 
ren,  in  some  of  the  larger  towns  and  villages  in  the  State. 
While  thus  engaged,  and  during  the  month  of  February, 
my  health  began  to  suffer  from  too  severe  and  protracted 
la%or,  and  becoming  somewhat  alarmed  by  symptoms 
indicating  approaching  paralysis,  I  discontinued  my 
labor  and  started  for  a  visit  to  one  of  my  sons,  who  re¬ 
sides  on  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  in  East  Tennessee. 

Finding  the  scenery  quite  novel  and  the  climate 
healthful  and  delightful,  I  concluded  to  spend  the  sum¬ 
mer  there,  and — don’t  laugh,  dear  reader — bought  me  a 
small  farm,  which  I  purpose  to  occupy  and  Yankeefy, 
when  I  get  my  thoughts  on  the  temperance  question 


EAST  TENNESSEE. 


375 


fully  before  my  countrymen, — provided  always — Cincin¬ 
nati  shall  build  its  projected  railroad  across  Eastern 
Kentucky  and  over  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  direct  to 
Chattanooga,  the  great  railroad  center  of  the  South.  I 
must,  however,  add  one  other  proviso,  viz  :  that  the  line 
of  that  *oad  be  run  so  near  my  farm  as  to  render  it 
quite  convenient  for  me  to  get  the  “  Cincinnati  Gazette” 
and  the  “  Commercial,”  by  twelve  o’clock  at  noon  on 
the  day  they  are  printed, — and  from  the  other  direction, 
my  basket  of  Georgia  peaches,  in  the  season  of  them,  by 
express,  the  same  day  they  are  picked  from  the  trees, 
as  the  peach  crop  of  the  Plateau,  though  fine,  and  gen¬ 
erally  abundant  where  trees  have  been  grown,  does  oc¬ 
casionally  fail. 

East  Tennessee  has  many  attractions  for  northern 
men  of  limited  means  and  industrious  habits,  who  must 
buy  cheap  lands  if  any — who  desire  a  mild  and  equable 
climate,  are  fond  of  good  fruit,  venison  steaks,  and  a 
cheerful  wood-fire  on  the  hearths  of  their  sitting  room, 
and  who  would  be  entirely  out  of  the  way  of  ague-shakes 
and  cholera-contagion,  and  whose  habits  and  disposi¬ 
tions  are  such  that  they  can  find  more  pleasure  in  shap¬ 
ing  aright  a  new  community,  than  in  the  quiet  enjoyment 
of  the  stereotyped  institutions,  and — if  you  please — the 
manifold  advantages  of  an  old  one. 

For  the  information  of  those  who  would  become  my 
neighbors*  on  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  I  will  here  inform 
them,  that  real  estate  on  the  moutain  is  cheap — lienee  I 
bought  my  fa  ran  there. 

Having  recruited  my  energies  by  a  summer’s  resi¬ 
dence  on  the  mountain  aforesaid,  I  visited,  in  September, 


“876 


ONTARIO. 


u 


55 


Her  Majesty’s  Province  of  Ontario — formerly  “  Canada 
West”— -on  the  invitation  of  our  brethren  there,  and 
spent  a  month  delightfully  in  laboring  with  and  for 
them.  The  temperance  Orders,  Sons  of  Temperance 
and  Good  Templars,  are  the  only  temperance  organiza¬ 
tions  I  found  in  Ontario,  except  here  and  there  one  for 
the  youth  and  children.  In  the  mother  country,  Eng¬ 
land,  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  temperance  organiza¬ 
tions  are  on  the  pattern  I  prefer — open  to  all  the  world. 
When  men  trained  in  those  English  societies  visit  the 
Provinces,  our  brethren  there  will  do  well  to  notice 
whether  their  temperance  education  be  not  in  advance 
of  those  trained  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  in  close 
organizations.  From  what  I  learned  during  this  tour 
and  on  previous  visits  to  the  Provinces,  I  judge  there  is 
there  less  hostility  to  the  peculiar  and  characteristic  fea¬ 
tures  of  close  organizations  among  the  clergy  and  Chris¬ 
tian  people  generally,  than  among  the  same  class  on 
this  side  of  the  line.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  Orders, 
there,  are  doing  pretty  much  all  that  is  done,  in  the  way 
of  organized  efforts  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause. 

Whether,  while  our  brethren  shall  operate  exclusively 
through  those  forms,  they  can  sufficiently  educate  the 
masses  in  temperance  doctrines,  and  thus  prepare  for 
the  annihilation  of  the  liquor  traffic,  remains  to  be 
seen. 

While  making  the  tour  last  mentioned,  I  received  an 
invitation  from  the  officers  of  the  National  Temperance 
Society  to  visit  New  York,  and  while  making  that  the 
center  of  my  lecturing  operations,  assist  in  the  editorial 
management  of  the  “  National  Temperance  Advocate.” 


THE  NATIONAL  SOCIETY. 


377 


I  have  continued  thus  to  serve  the  cause  of  temperance 
from  the  autumn  of  18G9  to  the  present  date,  and  with 
my  view  of  the  importance  of  the  a  National  Society 
and  Publication  House  ”  to  the  temperance  cause  gen¬ 
erally,  and  consequently  to  all  the  most  precious  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  American  people,  I  only  regret  that  I  have 
not  been  able  to  render  that  important  organization 
more  essential  service. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Charles  Dickens — The  Logic  of  Facts — Narcotism  and  Death — « 
Slightly  intoxicated — What  we  must  teach — Starvation  and  con¬ 
sequent  feebleness — Foundations  and  Connections — Temperance 
and  the  Doctors — New  Years  Calls — Our  Colleges — Wine  and 
Silence — Crowding  matters  too  close — A  muddle  indeed — Tobacco. 

The  following  are  selected  from  my  recent  writings. 
Most  of  the  articles  have  reference  to  practical  points 
which  are  now  everywhere  under  discussion  among  the 
friends  of  temperance.  If  many  years  of  careful  ob¬ 
servation,  investigation,  and  experience,  in  connection 
with  reformatory  labor,  attach  any  value  to  my  opinions 
relative  to  the  matters  I  have  had  under  consideration, 
the  careful  perusal  of  these  selections  may  be  useful  to 
the  reader. 

The  first  of  the  series  was  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
one  of  the  most  voluminous  and  popular  writers  of  our 
age,  whose  influence  upon  the  minds  and  morals  of  his 
millions  of  readers  was  very  earnestly  discussed  on  the 
platform  and  through  the  press,  for  some  months  after 
his  sudden  decease.  My  contribution  toward  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  a  much  vexed  question,  is  respectfully  sub¬ 
mitted. 

Charles  Dickens. 

The  death  of  this  popular  author  has  naturally  given 
rise  to  much  discussion  relative  to  his  peculiar  merits 

(378) 


CHARLES  DICKENS. 


379 


and  tlie  influence  he  has  exerted  on  the  popular  mind 
and  heart,  and  the  habits,  lives,  and  destinies  of  men. 
All  concede  to  him  the  first  rank  as  a  prose  writer,  and 
gratefully  recognize  the  eminent  service  he  has  rendered 
mankind  in  giving  us,  in  his  voluminous  writings,  such 
vivid  and  startling  portraitures  of  folly  and  wrong  as 
have  compelled  thousands  to  laugh  at  the  folly  and  hate 
the  wrong  which  perhaps  themselves  had  unwittingly 
practiced,  and  to  turn  from  both  with  clearer  views  of 
truth  -and  duty,  a  better  mind,  and  an  earnest  purpose 
to  live  thenceforth  a  better  and  a  nobler  life. 

The  advent  of  his  works  has  wrought  in  many  a  home 
the  same  result  as  did  the  visit  of  William  Fern  and  the 
helpless  Lilian  to  the  home  of  Toby  Yeck,  and  sent  its 
inmates  forth  to  the  duties  of  life  with  the  same  cheerful 
spirit  that  prompted  Toby  to  serve  so  efficiently  his  hum¬ 
ble  friends,  with  his  “  Here  we  are,  and  here  we  go.” 

But  it  cannot  be  said,  truthfully,  that  the  perusal  of 
his  writings  has  contributed  to  advance  the  cause  of 
temperance  in  this  drinking  and  drunken  world,  or  to 
put  men  more  on  their  guard  against  the  insidious  as¬ 
saults  of  the  most  potent  enemy  of  human  health,  purity, 
and  happiness.  The  drink-traffic  and  drinking  customs 
and  habits  of  the  people  of  England  are  a  more  terrible 
enemy  to  the  working  classes,  and  particularly  to  the 
poor,  in  whose  more  especial  interest  he  wrote,  than  all 
the  other  unfortunate  circumstances  and  influences  with 
which  they  are  surrounded  ;  whether  directly  emanating 
from  unjust  laws,  oppressive  customs,  or  the  selfishness 
and  wickedness  of  individual  men.  How  happened  it 
that  he  who  dealt  such  unerring  and  stunning  blows  on 
almost  every  other  folly  and  wrong  of  human  society, 


880 


CHARLES  DICKENS. 


had  no  blow  for  this  gigantic  system  of  wickedness,  this 
destroyer  of  human  industries,  this  panderer  to  every 
nameless  vice,  this  relentless  crusher  of  hearts  and 
hopes,  this  parent  of  mobs  and  riots,  of  barbarities  and 
butcheries,  this  filler  of  poor-houses,  prisons,  and  un¬ 
timely  graves  ?  Our  complaint  is  not  that  the  brandy- 
bottle,  the  puncli-bowl,  and  the  wine  appear  so  frequently 
in  the  scenes  described,  but  that  they  come  forth  with 
eclcit ,  with  evident  approval ;  and  that  the  free  use  of 
intoxicating  liquors,  even  to  the  production  of  insane 
babblings  and  maudlin  intoxication,  is  nowhere  repre¬ 
hended.  In  his  Christmas  stories,  ghosts  and  phantoms 
exhibit  to  different  individuals,  with  startling  effect,  the 
legitimate  and  inevitable  results  of  the  false  principles 
they  entertain,  and  of  the  wrong  courses  they  are  pursu¬ 
ing,  until  they  turn  from  the  false  and  the  wrong  with 
loathing  and  resolve  on  thorough  reformation.  But 
where,  by  ghost  or  phantom  or  otherwise,  in  the  works 
of  Dickens,  are  the  consumers  of  brandy  and  rum-punch 
shown  the  frequent  and  terrible  results  of  their  indul¬ 
gences,  and  led  to  resolve  on  their  abandonment  ?  In 
his  Christman  Carol ,  everybody  drinks,  man,  woman,  and 
child,  from  Scrooge  to  Tiny  Tim;  though,  to  the  credit 
of  the  dear  little  fellow,  it  is  said  he  cared  nothing  for 
it :  “  Tiny  Tim  drank  it  last  of  all,  but  he  didn’t  care 
twopence  for  it.” 

Dickens’s  most  estimable  characters,  whom  he  compels 
us  to  admire  and  love,  drink,  and  drink  freely.  The 
kind-hearted,  sympathetic,  and  philosophical  Pickwick 
drinks  always,  when  the  article  is  at  hand ;  and  on  one 
occasion  he  drank,  we  are  told,  until  “  his  head  was  sunk 
upon  his  bosom,  and  perpetual  snoring — with  a  partial 


CHARLES  DICKENS. 


881 


choke  occasionally — were  the  only  audible  indications 
of  the  great  man’s  presence.”  This  was  a  sad  state 
johysically  for  a  good  man,  not  to  speak  of  the  small 
matter  of  morals ;  but  no  thoughtful  member  of  the 
Pickwick  Club,  nor  ghost,  nor  phantom  hints  at  a  possi¬ 
ble  apoplexy  by  and  by,  or  a  visitation  of  the  gout,  as 
the  probable  outcome  of  such  indulgences ;  so  he  con¬ 
tinues  to  drink. 

Nowhere,  and  in  no  way,  so  far  as  we  recollect,  are 
we  taught  by  this  great  master  of  the  noblest  art — who 
holds,  as  it  were,  our  very  hearts  in  his  hand,  and  moves 
them  at  his  will — to  class  free  drinking  with  habits  and 
characteristics  to  be  avoided.  They  are  generally 
treated  as  matters  of  indifference,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Drum,  a  private  friend  of  Trotty’s,  in  the  Chimes  :  “  The 
Drum  was  rather  drunk,  by  the  by ;  but  never  mind.” 

If  our  best  writers,  those  who  inculcate  the  purest 
morals  and  the  loftiest  sentiments,  in  relation  to  other 
matters,  will  treat  this  most  destructive  of  all  man’s 
vices  with  such  leniency,  and  thus  instruct  their  admiring 
readers  to  do  the  same,  what  is  to  come  of  it  ?  Reader, 
we  put  that  question  to  you.  Free  drinkers,  in  the  pages 
of  Dickens,  are  not  only  companionable,  excellent  fel¬ 
lows,  but  they  are  sometimes  pious  withal ;  and,  quite 
unlike  what  we  have  observed  on  this  side  the  Atlantic, 
the  piety  seems  none  the  worse  for  the  liquor.  As  an 
instance,  glorious  Bob  Cratchet  drinks  ;  and  in  the  over¬ 
flowing  of  his  heart  he  does  what  even  our  few  wine¬ 
drinking  doctors  of  divinity  with  all  their  piety  fail  to 
do,  so  far  as  we  have  learned — he  asks  God  to  bless  him 
and  his  friends  in  their  perilous  indulgence.  After  serv¬ 
ing  out  liberally  the  “  hot  stuff  from  the  jug,”  Bob  ex- 


382 


CHARLES  DICKENS. 


claims,  “A  merry  Christmas  to  us  all,  my  dears.  God 
bless  us !” 

Were  it  necessary,  we  could  quote  columns  in  illus- 
tration  of  the  truth  we  have  before  stated,  that  drinking, 
free  drinking,  even  to  intoxication,  with  all  its  terrible 
consequences,  was  not  reckoned  by  Mr.  Dickens  among 
the  follies  or  wrongs  of  the  age  which  he  felt  called  upon 
to  rebuke  or  to  aid  in  reforming.  On  the  contrary,  blows 
aimed  by  the  good  men  of  his  time  at  the  drink  system 
he  skillfully  parried,  and  their  efforts  to  effect  a  reform 
he  held  up  to  undeserved  ridicule.  However  excellent 
the  influence  of  his  writings  otherwise,  on  this  one  sub- 
ject  he  was  wrong,  terribly  wrong ;  wrong  in  opinion, 
in  feeling,  and  in  practice,  and  the  influence  of  his  writ¬ 
ings,  however  excellent  in  relation  to  other  matters, 
tends  directly  to  popularize  and  perpetuate  the  drinking 
customs  of  society,  nowhere  more  prevalent  or  destruct¬ 
ive  than  as  they  existed  directly  under  the  eye  of  the 
writer. 

But  what  is  the  explanation  of  all  this  ?  How  could 
one  with  such  wonderful,  aye,  almost  microscopic  power 
of  observation,  fail  to  see  the  drink  system  in  its  proper 
light  ?  The  gin -palaces  of  London  and  drink-shops  gen¬ 
erally  are  not  among  the  indifferent  things  of  this  earth, 
and  likely  to  escape  observation  from  their  very  insig¬ 
nificance.  They  are  powers  in  the  earth  for  good  or  for 
evil.  Was  there  any  difficulty  in  determining  which? 
Did  fashion  or  custom  so  cloak  the  evil  that  he  could  not 
see  the  facts  and  the  truths  beneath  or  behind  them  ? 
They  never,  elsewhere,  concealed  a  truth  or  a  wrong 
from  him.  In  relation  to  other  matters,  his  eagle  eye 
looked  through  such  flimsy  coverings,  as  (lie  sun  looks 


CHARLES  DICKENS. 


383 


in  at.  an  open  window  when  no  cloud  or  curtain  inter¬ 
venes.  Was  there  nothing  in  the  drink  system,  with  its 
legitimate,  everywhere  present,  and  manifold  miseries, 
to  interest  him  ?  lie  was  not  certainly  the  “  Doctor 
Jeddler”  of  his  own  pages,  to  whom,  before  reformation 
came,  the  world  and  all  its  affairs  seemed  but  a  ridicu- 
lous  farce,  fit  only  to  provoke  a  laugh  or  point  a  jest.  He 
felt  for  and  eloquently  pleaded  the  cause  of  all  who  were 
wronged  and  crushed,  except  the  millions  who  suffer 
from  the  terrible  oppression  and  wrong  of  the  drink- 
traffic' and  the  drinking  customs.  For  these  he  had  no 
plea,  no  word  of  encouragement  or  hope,  and  no  word 
of  denunciation  for  the  villainous  system  by  which  they 
are  crushed.  The  divine  word  gives  us  the  key  with 
which  to  find  the  truth  here. 

“  Wine  is  a  mocker”  (a  deceiver).  The  idea  is  that 
of  being  cheated,  deluded,  as  the  reader  will  see  by 
reading  the  verse  through  :  “And  whosoever  is  deceived 
thereby ,  is  not  wise.” 

Dickens,  though  a  man  of  wonderful  powers,  was  not 
proof  against  the  deluding  influence  of  wine.  Isaiah 
tells  us  that  “  the  priest  and  the  prophets”  of  his  time 
“erred  through  wine.”  He  said,  “  They  err  in  vision, 
they  stumble  in  judgment.”  Men,  even  our  priests  and 
prophets,  have  not  become  angels  since  the  time  of  Isaiah, 
and  wine  is  wine  still,  and  as  potent  to  deceive  as  ever. 
Dickens  was,  in  this  matter,  no  worse  nor  better  than 
other  great  and  good  men  of  our  age,  who  ignore  this 
great  question  ;  and  who,  by  example  and  precept,  sus¬ 
tain  the  most  wicked  and  destructive  system  that  now 
curses  the  earth.  More  than  one-fourth  of  the  clergy 
of  England,  and  some  of  the  same  class  in  this  countrv, 
lend  their  influence  to  the  weight  that  is  crushing  the 


384 


CHARLES  DICKENS. 


hearts  and  hopes  of  thousands,  corrupting  the  public 
morals,  and  opposing  itself  squarely  and  defiantly  to 
every  good  influence  and  institution.  Our  Senators  and 
Congressmen,  more  than  half  of  them,  drink.  Learned 
judges,  lawyers,  and  doctors  drink.  They  know  that 
tens  of  thousands  of  their  countrymen  go  down  annually 
to  drunkards’  graves ;  and  they  know,  too,  that  by  the 
utterance  of  truth,  and  the  practice  of  self-denial,  they 
could  personally  greatly  lessen  the  evil,  but  they  choose 
to  drink.  They  smack  their  moist  lips  over  their  liquors, 
bow  to  each  other  over  the  table,  drink  and  laugh,  and 
seem  utterly  regardless  of  the  influence  they  are  exerting. 
Submit  to  the  consideration  of  these  gentlemen  any 
other  agency  producing  a  thousandth  part  the  mischief 
and  misery  of  the  drink  system,  and  you  will  instantly 
learn  that  they  are  neither  stupid  nor  heartless ;  but  in 
reference  to  this  matter,  they  are  living  illustrations  of 
the  truth  of  God’s  word  :  they  are  deceived,  deluded,  and 
many  of  them  by  the  same  influence  doomed  and  damned. 
The  infatuation  of  men,  even  good  men,  in  reference  to 
the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  is  really  amazing.  We 
could  point  to  learned  Professors  of  Colleges  or  schools 
of  Divinity  who  have  pleaded  for  wine,  and  continued  to 
drink  it,  while,  it  was  ruining  their  sons  and  desolating 
their  homes.  We  reckon  it  among  the  most  disagreeable 
of  all  our  duties  as  the  conductor  of  a  reformatory  jour¬ 
nal  to  speak  thus  of  the  errors,  follies,  and  faults  of  our 
great  men,  our  men  of  genius  and  learning,  for  whom, 
otherwise,  we  feel  a  respect  amounting  often  to  absolute 
reverence  ;  but  to  treat  with  leniency  their  manifest  and 
mischievous  errors  would  be  neither  scriptural,  kind,  nor 
just.  It  would  be  practicing  cruelty  to  the  millions  who 


THE  LOGIC  OF  FACTS. 


385 


are  misled  by  their  example,  and  whose  hard  lot  in  life 
is  rendered  more  hard  by  their  evil  influence.  It  should 
ever  he  remembered,  that  neither  genius,  learning,  nor 
exalted  position  can  sanctify  a  wrong  or  neutralize  the 
influence  of  error ;  hut,  on  the  contrary,  give  added 
power  to  both.  Falsehood  and  profanity  did  not  change 
their  characters  when  practiced  by  the  eloquent  apostle 
Peter,  nor  was  adultery  rendered  a  virtue  or  respectable 
by  the  example  of  a  David. 


The  Logic  of  Facts. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  temperance  enterprise, 
those  who  labored  to  advance  it  had  little  to  do  with 
theories  and  philosophical  speculations.  Their  attention 
was  chiefly  occupied  with  a  multitude  of  most  deplorable 
facts ,  which  every  thoughtful,  honest  observer  traced  at 
once  to  the  use  of  alcoholic  liquors  as  their  immediate 
procuring  cause.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  paternity 
of  the  mischief.  The  relationship  was  too  intimate 
and  obvious.  Thousands  of  good  men,  all  over  the 
land,  desirous  of  lessening  the  evils  to  which  their  at¬ 
tention  had  been  called,  and  the  cause  of  which  they 
now  clearly  perceived,  resolved  at  once  to  try  the  effect 
of  abstinence,  anticipating,  many  of  them  at  least,  some 
present  evil  in  the  contemplated  change  in  their  habits, 
but  willing  to  suffer,  if  need  be,  if  by  so  doing  they  could 
mitigate  the  manifold  evils  of  intemperance.  These 
friends  were  happily  disappointed.  As  the  result  of 
their  abstinence  from  alcoholic  liquors,  they  became 
Ph  ysieally  and  mentally  nm^*  vigorous,  and  could  endure 
17 


386 


THE  LOGIC  OF  FACTS. 


protracted  labor  and  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  better 
than  before  the  change  in  their  habits.  In  short,  they 
discovered  that  a  measure  of  self-denial  which  they  had 
practiced  for  conscience  sake,  and  from  a  benevolent 
desire  to  do  good  to  others,  had  promoted  their  own 
health  and  happiness  in  an  eminent  degree.  These  re¬ 
sults  of  abstinence  from  the  use  of  liquors  by  those  who 
had  previously  used  them  for  years  in  all  their  varieties 
and  forms,  under  all  circumstances,  and  we  might 
almost  write,  in  all  quantities,  have  been  uniform ,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  declaration  of  those  who  were  best  qual¬ 
ified  to  judge,  they  having  personally  tested  the  matter. 
Their  united  testimony  comes  up  to  us  as  the  sound  of 
many  waters — as  with  the  voice  of  an  earthquake.  All 
the  biblical  quotations  and  interpretations  of  our  few 
wine-drinking  clergymen,  and  all  the  wire-drawn  theo¬ 
ries  of  our  whisky-drinking  doctors,  cannot  alter  these 
facts.  There  they  stand  in  the  aggregate,  like  Bunker 
Hill  Monument,  massive  and  grand,  a  memorial  of  the 
past  and  a  beacon  for  the  future. 

Now,  any  theory  of  the  action  of  alcoholic  liquors  on 
the  bodies  of  men  and  their  various  organs  and  tissues, 
which  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  this  aggregation  of 
facts,  must  be  false.  A  man  might  as  well  undertake 
to  prove  to  us  by  some  curious  process  of  reasoning  that 
fire  will  not  burn  us,  or  that  food  is  not  needful  to  the 

comfort  and  sustenance  of  our  bodies.  The  contact  of 

* 

a  heated  iron  with  our  fingers,  or  a  fast  of  twenty-foui< 
hours,  will  prove  too  strong  for  all  such  theories. 


WHAT  WE  MUST  TEACH. 


387 


What  we  must  Teach. 

Thousands  violated  the  laws  of  their  physical  being 
before  the  commencement  of  the  temperance  reform  by 
swallowing  alcoholic  liquors;  but  they  did  it  in  ignorance 
of  the  law  and  its  requirements  ;  and  we  have  no  more 
reason  for  questioning  their  Christian  character  in  con¬ 
sequence  than  we  should  the  conscientiousness  or  Chris¬ 
tian  character  of  men  who2  through  ignorance  and  errors 
of  diet  or  improper  exposures,  bring  upon  themselves 
dyspepsia  or  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  No  moral 
guilt  is  incurred  by  the  violation  of  the  laws  of  one’s 
physical  being  while  he  remains  in  ignorance  of  the  law  ; 
unless,  indeed,  he  has  shut  his  eyes  against  the  light,  or 
neglected  to  improve  the  means  of  acquiring  knowledge 
which  God  has  placed  within  his  reach.  He  does  not 
escape  the  physical  penalty,  however.  The  body  is  in¬ 
jured,  and,  through  its  mysterious  connection  with  the 
mind,  the  intellect  suffers.  Nor  does  the  injury  stop 
here.  The  affections,  appetites,  and  passions  of  the 
man  are  influenced  materially  by  the  state  of  the  body ; 
and  in  swallowing  alcoholic  liquors  all  these  are  per¬ 
verted  or  inflamed  according  to  the  measure  of  the 
physical  injury.  • 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  when  the  mind  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  man  is  enlightened  on  the  subject,  he  can  no  more 
put  alcoholic  liquors  in  his  stomach  and  keep  a  con¬ 
science  void  of  offence  than  he  could  swallow  daily  a 
moderate  dose  of  any  other  poison,  expose  himself  need¬ 
lessly  by  breathing  a  tainted  atmosphere,  or  take  burn¬ 
ing  coals  in  his  hand.  All  the  discussion  as  to  whether 
it  be  a  sin  per  se  to  drink  a  glass  of  alcoholic  wine,  is  a 
waste  of  breath. 


388 


WHAT  WE  MUST  TEACH. 


The  answer  to  two  simple  questions  will  settle  the 
matter.  Is  alcohol  a  poison  at  war  with  vitality  ?  If 

so,  does  Mr.  A - B -  know  that  fact  ?  If  he  is 

acquainted  with  that  fact,  he  compromises  his  character 
as  a  Christian  man,  if  he  meddles  with  it ;  unless,  in¬ 
deed,  it  be  prescribed  to  him  by  some-  medical  adviser 
as  a  medicinal  agent  in  some  abnormal  condition  of  the 
system. 

Our  work  proper,  as  temperance  reformers,  is  to  con¬ 
vince  all  men  that  alcohol,  the  active  principle  even  in 
pure  wines  and  liquors,  is  an  enemy  to  life ;  that  its 
influence  interferes  injuriously  with  the  functions  of 
the  stomach,  the  brain — in  short,  all  the  important  or¬ 
gans  of  the  body ;  and  that  its  mischievous  influence 
will  extend  by  the  operation  of  fixed  laws  to  the  mind, 
the  social  affections,  and  the  moral  sensibilities  of  the 
consumer.  We  must  not  stop  here,  but  must  call  the 
attention  of  the  people  to  the  warfare  which  intoxicating 
liquors  wage,  through  their  mischievous  influence  on 
the  human  brain,  upon  agriculture,  the  manufacturing 
interest,  commerce,  education,  civil  government,  and 
religion ;  and  we  must  strongly  and  sternly  appeal  to 
the  consciences  of  all  who  have  been  enlightened  on  the 
subject,  and  demand  their  active  cooperation  in  the  work 
of  removing  the  scourge.  In  all  our  efforts  we  must  bear 
in  mind  constantly  that  the  law  primarily  violated  by 
the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  is  a  physical  law.  This 
we  must  constantly  teach,  and  as  constantly  urge,  that 
the  first  and  manifest  duty  of  men  concerning  it  is  to 
practice  abstinence — personal,  rigid  abstinence — for  the  ' 
same  reason,  primarily,  that  we  should  abstain  from  the 
use  of  arsenic,  corrosive  sublimate,  opium,  chloroform, 


FOUNDATIONS  AND  CONNECTIONS. 


389 


or  prussic  acid.  In  the  light  of  those  truths,  it  will  not 
be  difficult  for  any  man  of  ordinary  understanding  to 
perceive  the  true  relation  of  temperance,  or  the  doctrine 
and  practice  of  abstinence  from  intoxicating  liquors,  to 
Christianity,  the  church,  the  ministry,  religious  revivals, 
or  any  other  interest  of  society  or  class  of  men. 


Foundations  and  Connections. 

Is  it  right  or  safe  to  use  alcoholic  liquors  as  a  drink  ? 
Innate  consciousness  will  not  help  us  here.  To  enable 
us  to  answer  that  question,  we  must  have  learned,  either 
from  experience,  observation,  or  study,  the  effects  of 
such  drinking  upon  the  physical  constitution  of  man ; 
for  if  any  law  be  violated  by  such  drinking,  it  is  prima¬ 
rily  a  law  pertaining  to  life  and  health,  and  a  knowledge 
of  those  laws  is  not,  with  men,  intuitive,  but  acquired. 
Now,  here  is  just  where  the  difficulty  lies,  in  reference 
to  this  great  and  beneficent  work  of  reform. 

The  knowledge  acquired  by  a  long  habit  of  drinking, 
comes,  alas  !  too  late  in  a  vast  majority  of  cases ;  for 
the  nervous  system  has,  by  the  previous  use  of  the  drug, 
been  diseased,  and  will  often  clamor,  while  life  lasts,  for 
the  present  relief  afforded  by  the  destroying  agent.  We 
therefore  wish  to  induce  our  young  men  to  abstain  from 
all  use  of  intoxicating  elements ;  but  we  do  not  wish 
them  to  learn  the  folly  and  danger  of  such  use  by  per¬ 
sonal  experience.  But  how  else  are  they  to  learn  the 
saving,  restraining  truth  ?  Will  you  point  them  to  the 
cases  of  A,  B,  or  C,  who  have  become  drunkards  and 


390 


FOUNDATIONS  AND  CONNECTIONS. 


are  ruined  ?  They  will  point  you  to  D,  E,  or  F,  who 
have  drank  for  many  years,  and  are  still  esteemed  gen¬ 
tlemen,  perhaps  Christians.  Talk  until  you  are  hoarse, 
of  the  extreme  poverty,  vice,  crime,  and  moral  degrada¬ 
tion  of  men  through  drink,  and  they  will  answer,  they 
are  taught  to  answer  by  thousands  of  Christian  gentle¬ 
men,  some  professors  of  colleges,  and  a  few  of  our  rev¬ 
erend  clergy,  that  all  that  is  justly  chargeable  to  excess 
in  the  use  of  the  drink ;  and,  as  each  young  man  deems 
himself  capable  of  avoiding  excess,  your  argument  does 
not  reach  him,  and  he  continues  to  follow  the  teachings 
of  those  who  by  example  and  precept,  declare  to  him 
that  he  may  drink  in  moderation,  at  the  demand  of  fash¬ 
ion  or  inclination,  without  sin  or  special  danger.  Now 
here  is  a  work  to  be  done  which  fierce  denunciation  of 
drunkenness  and  the  liquor  traffic,  nor  startling  word- 
pictures  of  accomplished  ruins,  nor  appeals  to  conscience, 
or  self-respect,  or  fear,  or  all  together,  can  perform ; 
for  here  are  minds  as  yet  unconvinced  of  the  danger  and 
the  wrong  of  drinking  alcoholic  liquors,  if  excess  be 
avoided ,  and  they  intend  to  avoid  excess. 

The  truths  of  science,  the  ascertained  relations  of  al¬ 
coholic  liquors  to  the  physical  organizations  of  men, 
must  now  come  to  the  front  and  fight  our  battle  for  us, 
or  victory  can  not  be  ours.  The  moment  these  relations 
are  fairly  comprehended  and  appreciated,  your  way  is 
clear  for  effective  appeals  to  the  judgment — to  Chris¬ 
tian  principle,  if  parties  possess  it,  to  native  benevolence, 
to  educated  conscience,  to  interest,  affection,  and  fear. 
But  while  there  is  wanting  in  those  we  address  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  fundamental  truths,  your  other  measures  and 
grounds  of  appeal  are  as  ineffective,  with  logical  minds, 


STARVATION,  AND  CONSEQUENT  FEEBLENESS.  891 

with  thinking,  educated  men,  as  would  be  an  assault  on 
Fortress  Monroe  with  cavalry  or  infantry,  before  heavy 
shot  and  shell  had  made  breaches  in  its  walls.  Every 
thing  in  its  place  and  season.  Iron-work,  paint,  varnish, 
and  cushions  are  essential  to  a  fine  carriage  ;  but  before 
these,  there  must  be  wheels,  thills,  and  a  body :  cube 
root  and  equations,  by  all  means  ;  but  before  these,  sub¬ 
traction  and  multiplication.  Buttons  ?  yes,  certainly, 
but  a  coat  first. 

But  we  shall  be  told,  perhaps,  that  the  verdict  of 
science  is  not  sufficiently  settled  on  this  question  to  af¬ 
ford  us  a  reliable  basis.  Then  we  have  none  which  will 
answer  our  purpose.  If  it  be  not  proved  conclusively 
that  alcohol  is  at  war  with  the  principle  of  vitality  in 
man,  we  are  all  afloat,  and  can  only  argue  the  question 
of  drink  or  no  drink  as  one  of  policy,  or  of  Christian 
expediency,  which  few  but  conscientious  Christians  will 
be  governed  by;  and  this  side  of  the  millcnni  an  we 
can  have  no  hope  of  reaching  controlling  majorities. 


Starvation,  and  Consequent  Feebleness. 

Until  the  temperance  men  of  our  country  to  whom 
God  has  given  large  wealth  and  extensive  influence  shall 
show  their  respect  for  the  cause  by  assigning  to  it  its 
proper  place  among  the  great  benevolent  enterprises  of 
the  age,  and  sustaining  it,  not  only  by  their  example, 
their  words,  their  prayers,  and  their  votes,  but  also  by 
their  charities,  in  the  same  manner  and  to  an  equal 
extent  to  which  they  sustain  other  enterprises  not  a  whit 
more  needful  or  worthy,  the  cause  will  languish.  As  it 
is,  they  give  to  other  enterprises  in  round  numbers  and 


392  STARVATION,  AND  CONSEQUENT  FEEBLENESS. 

to  temperance  in  fractions.  So  strange  is  this  infatua¬ 
tion  that  we  have  known  scores  who,  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  declared  publicly,  again  and  again,  their  devo¬ 
tion  to  the  cause  and  their  belief  that  its  triumph  would 
secure  untold  blessings  to  the  country  and  the  world, 
and  then  crown  all  by  bequeathing  to  the  missionary 
society  ten  thousand,  to  some  college  another  ten  thou¬ 
sand,  to  the  Bible  society  five  thousand,  to  the  tract 
society  five  thousand  perhaps,  and  so  on,  and  to  the 
treasury  of  the  temperance  cause  not  one  cent. 

When  will  this  great  enterprise,  while  it  is  thus,  be 
able  to  command,  to  an  adequate  extent,  the  educated 
talent  of  the  country  to  present  its  claims  to  the  people  ? 
The  liberality  of  a  few  good  and  wise  men,  here  and 
there,  constitute  noble  exceptions  to  the  rule,  and  bring 
out,  by  contrast,  in  bolder  relief  the  mistaken  and  kill¬ 
ing  parsimony  of  the  masses  even  of  our  Christian  rich 
men.  Had  the  earnest  and  devoted  but  mistaken  friends 
of  this  cause,  who  have  wealth  in  abundance,  treated  it 
for  the  last  fifteen  years  with  the  same  liberality  they  have 
other  enterprises ,  the  efficiency  of  the  National,  and  of 
every  State  organization,  would  have  been  increased 
ten-fold. 

Fellow-laborer,  if  God  has  given  you  wealth,  you  will 
some  time  think  of  making  your  will.  If  you  shall 
therein  give  of  your  property  to  aid  other  enterprises 
and  nothing  to  the  temperance  cause,  let  us  respectfully 
suggest  that  you  tell  why  in  an  explanatory  note.  If 
nothing  more  suitable  shall  occur  to  you,  you  may  copy 
the  following  words,  and  fold  them  up  with  that  impor¬ 
tant  instrument,  your  will : 

“  In  this,  my  last  will  and  testament,  I  have  made 


SLIGHTLY  INTOXICATED. 


393 


bequests  of  my  property  to  all  the  enterprises  of  the 
age  which  I  considered  worthy  of  special  support.  As, 
when  I  have  passed  away,  some  may  wonder  that  I  gave 
nothing  to  the  temperance  cause,  which  they  heard  mo 
so  often  extol  while  living,  I  hereby  inform  them,  that  I 
meant  simply  to  pay  the  cause  a  pleasant  compliment, 
which  cost  nothing,  but  considered  it  utterly  unworthy 
of  any  more  substantial  support.” 


Slightly  Intoxicated. 

“  The  New  Haven  Palladium  tells  a  horrible  story  of  brutality  to 
a  wife,  to  the  following  effect:  Alexander  McCrady  went  with  his 
wife  from  Plymouth  to  Waterbury,  to  pass  Christmas.  On  the  way 
home  they  quarreled,  and  McCrady,  who  was  slightly  intoxicated, 
seized  his  wife  and  threw  her  out  of  the  wagon,  breaking  both  bones 
of  her  leg  below  the  knee.  He  then  told  her  she  must  walk  the  rest 
of  the  way;  but  the  poor  woman  being  unable  to  rise,  he  got  out, 
and  fell  to  beating  and  kicking  her.  He  finally  threw  her  into  the 
wagon,  and  on  arriving  home,  threw  her  into  the  yard,  where  she 
lav  nearly  insensible,  while  with  a  knife  he  cut  off  every  particle  of 
her  clothing.  He  then  tied  a  rope  around  her  and  drew  her  under 
a  shed,  where  he  left  her  with  a  parting  kick — stabled  fed  his 

horse,  and  went  to  bed.  We  live  in  a  Christian  land!” 

The  Christianity  of  the  land  will  not  prevent  the  rep¬ 
etition  of  such  brutal  conduct  while  men  continue  to 
drink  intoxicating  liquors.  Comparatively  few  drink 
that  they  may  be  brutal.  Occasionally  an  individual 
zvishes  to  commit  an  act  from  which  his  better  nature 
revolts,  and  he  drinks  with  the  purpose  to  silence  the 
admonitions  of  conscience,  blunt  his  moral  sensibilities, 
and  enable  him  to  do,  without  compunction  or  shrinking, 
a  deed  "of  blood.  Thus  did  Strang,  at  Albany,  many 
years  since,  when  he  would  murder  TVhipple ;  and  such 


394 


SLIGHTLY  INTOXICATED. 


cases  are  by  no  means  rare.  Most  crimes  are,  however, 
committed  when  men  have  reached,  unintentionally ,  the 
stage  of  madness  and  bewilderment. 

Gentlemen  who  drink  for  a  spree,  as  they  call  it,  to 
feel  jolly,  for  the  fun  and  frolic  of  the  thing,  or  for  (lie 
narcotic  effect  of  the  third  stage,  to  drown  care,  or  lessen 
a  keen  sense  of  obligation  to  themselves,  their  families, 
their  creditors,  their  country,  or  their  maker,  God,  do 
not  study  the  subject  as  they  ought,  before  trying  so 
perilous  an  experiment.  Will  they  allow  us  hereby  to 
instruct  them  that,  in  a  thorough  spree  or  a  drunk  reg¬ 
ular,  there  are  three  stages  ? 

The  first  is  a  stage  of  excitement,  wherein  the  party 
is  generally  disposed  to  mirth.  He  laughs,  sings,  shouts, 
and  is  boisterous.  The  last  sMge  of  the  regular  drunk 
is  marked  by  a  disposition  to  coma,  or  sleepiness,  mental 
stupor,  generally  with  an  indisposition  to  move,  almost 
a  total  loss,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  mental  and  moral 
faculties,  and  such  imperfect  use  -of  his  muscles  that  he 
reels  and  staggers,  and  perhaps  falls,  if  he  attempts  to 
walk.  It  is  in  neither  the  first  nor  the  third  stage  that 
crime  is  committed,  or  such  brutal  deeds  are  done  as 
that  above  described ;  but  in  the  second  stage,  wherein 
the  mirth  is  ended,  and  the  stage  of  stupor  is  not  yet 
reached.  Just  there  is  an  intermediate  stage  wherein 
all  the  mental  and  moral  faculties  are  in  a  state  of  con¬ 
fusion,  not  as  yet  paralyzed  or  suspended ,  as  in  the  stage 
of  narcotism,  but  confused,  a  stage  of  insanity  or  menial 
bewilderment,  during  which  the  kindest-hearted  man 
of  your  acquaintance  may  kill  his  wife,  child,  parent,  or 
;most  intimate  and  best  beloved  friend. 

It  is  in  that  second  stage  of  drunkenness  that  nine- 


TEMPERANCE  AND  THE  DOCTORS. 


395 


tenths  of  our  murders  are  committed.  Reynolds  was 
evidently  in  that  stage  when  he  killed  Townsend,  Cham¬ 
bers  when  he  shot  Voorliies,  and  in  that  stage  the  brutal 
deed  above  described  was  done.  Read  the  above  sad 
story,  dear  reader,  in  the  light  of  the  foregoing  com¬ 
ments,  and  see  what  was  the  condition  of  McCrady  when 
he  committed  that  terrible  crime ;  a  crime,  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  which  every  supporter  of  the  drinking  system 
and  liquor  traffic  was  a  party. 


Temperance  and  the  Doctors. 

“  In  what  state  of  mind  did  the  man  die  ?”  asked  a 
gentleman  of  a  Christian  brother  who,  the  day  previous, 
had  spent  some  time  with  a  dying  friend. 

“  I  cannot  tell  you  anything  about  his  state  of  mind, 
whether  cheered  by  Christian  hopes  or  otherwise,”  said 
the  friend  ;  “  for  he  was  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours 
of  his  life  completely  intoxicated  by  the  large  quantity 
of  liquor  given  him,  with  a  view  to  support  him  in  his 
sinking  condition  ;  and,”  added  the  gentleman,  who  was 
a  faithful  and  devoted  Christian,  and  often  in  the  cham¬ 
bers  of  the  sick  to  speak  words  of  comfort  and  Christian 
counsel  to  the  suffering,  “  I  cannot,  these  days ,  get  any 
comfort  or  do  any  good  by  visiting  the  sick  and  the  dy¬ 
ing,  for  a  large  portion  of  them  die  drunk.  So  much 
brandy  is  given  them  that  the  feeble  brain  reels  under 
its  influence,  and  they  have  no  realizing  sense  of  their 
condition.” 

That  was  no  fancy  sketch.  Few  patients,  under  the 
care  of  the  majority  of  our  physicians,  are  permitted  to 
die  from  the  effects  of  incurable  disease  alone.  The 


COG  TEMPERANCE  AND  TOE  DOCTORS. 

powerful  anaesthetic,  alcohol,  is  permitted  to  have  a  hand 
in  the  extinction  of  vitality. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  given  for  that  purpose  ;  but  here, 
as  elsewhere,  the  “  mocker”  does  work  he  was  not  com¬ 
missioned  to  do.  Too  many  of  our  physicians  disbelieve, 
as  yet,  the  grand  truth,  stated  by  Dr.  T.  K.  Chambers, 
of  England.  He  says,  “  To  recapitulate,  we  think  that 
the  evidence,  so  far  as  it  lias  yet  gone,  shows  the  action 
of  alcohol  upon  life  to  be  consistent  and  uniform  in  all  its 
phases ,  and  to  be  always  exhibited  as  an  arrest  of  vitality .” 

The  distinguised  chemist,  Professor  Silliman  the  elder, 
once  remarked  to  me,  while  conversing  on  the  subject 
of  the  temperance  reform,  in  which  he  was  deeply  inter¬ 
ested,  that,  whatever  the  doctors  might  say,  “Alcohol 
was  closely  related  in  its  chemical  composition  and  in¬ 
fluence  to  chloroform  and  ether.”  The  French  class 
the  three  articles  together  under  the  general  term  of 
anaesthetics.  Who  would  think  of  administering  chlo¬ 
roform  or  ether  to  a  sinking  patient  as  a  restorative  ? 

Anaesthetics  are  valuable  when  we  have  an  important 
surgical  operation  to  perform  ;  and  why  ?  Because  they 
paralyze  the  nervous  system.  They  kill,  for  the  time 
being,  one  of  the  functions  of  living  human  beings, 
namely,  the  power  to  feel ;  but  they  do  something  more, 
it  seems.  Dr.  Hamilton,  medical  inspector  of  the 
United  States  Army,  while  admitting  the  great  value 
of  those  articles  in  surgical  cases,  in  lessening  suffering, 
says,  “  Anaesthetics  (alcohol  is  one  of  them)  produce 
certain  effects  upon  the  system  which  tend  to  prevent 
union  by  the  first  intention ,  (the  immediate  healing  of- 
wounds  without  the  formation  of  pus,)  and  consequently 
they  must  be  regarded  as,  indirectly,  promoting  suppu- 


TEMPERANCE  AND  THE  DOCTORS. 


397 


ration,  secondary  hemorrhage,  erysipelas,  and  hospital 
gangrene.”  But  why  do  they  do  all  this  ?  The  only 
answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Chambers,  as 
quoted  above.  They  “  arrest  vitality.”  Yet  our  doctors 
prescribe  it  to  the  feeble  and  sinking  with  the  view  to 
promote  vitality. 

Although  contradicted  by  facts  all  around  us,  a  major¬ 
ity  of  physicians  still  hold  to  the  notion,  and  inculcate 
it  by  their  remarks  in  the  sick-room  and  elsewhere,  that 
alcohol  possesses  the  power  to  support  a  feeble  patient, 
not  by  its  present  or  momentary  effect  as  a  stimulant  or 
irritant,  but  for  days  and  even  weeks.  Hence  its  pre¬ 
scription  in  fevers  of  low  type,  and  hence  too  its  prescrip¬ 
tion  for  nursing  mothers,  a  prescription  of  which  any 
physician  ought  to  be  ashamed.  But  nursing  a  strong 
and  vigorous  child,  it  is  often  said,  makes  a  heavy 
draught  on  the  mother.  Granted ;  and  therefore  you 
should  look  well  to  her  nutrition.  If  a  hearty  breakfast 
does  not  give  her  needful  support  to  the  dinner  hour, 
beat  an  egg  thoroughly,  add  to  it  half  a  pint  of  new 
milk,  with  sugar  and  a  little  spice  to  give  it  a  pleasant 
flavor,  and  let  that  be  taken  at  ten  o’clock,  and  a  similar 
draught  at  four  P.  M.  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  three 
meals,  being  careful  that  all  the  food  taken  shall  be  rich 
in  the  elements  of  nutrition,  and  easy  of  digestion. 
Fresh  pork,  smoked  meats,  sausages,  and  crude  vegeta¬ 
bles,  as  cabbage,  beets,  etc.,  should  be  avoided.  If  the 
digestion  be  faulty,  search  diligently  for  the  cause  of 
trouble.  It  may  be  too  much  care  about  her  infant  or 
older  children,  if  she  have  them  ;  about  domestic  affairs 
which  go  wrong  through  some  one’s  neglect,  possibly 
that  of  her  husband  in  not  providing  competent  help. 


31-8  TEMPERANCE  AND  THE  DOCTORS. 

It  may  be  that  she  is  suffering  (thousands  are)  from 
continual  anxiety  lest  want  should  be  at  her  door,  while 
her  husband  is  wickedly  wasting  his  earnings  in  dissipa¬ 
tion,  in  the  continued  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  or 
burning  up  a  small  income  in  cigars  at  ten  cents  each. 
It  may  be  a  continual  worry  of  mind  induced  by  the 
presence  of  an  unfeeling,  coarse,  crabbed  nurse,  who  is 
unfit  to  nurse  aught  save  a  feminine  bear,  and  even  at 
that  her  bad  temper  would  be  infectious,  and  spoil  the 
disposition  of  otherwise  respectable  cubs.  We  have  seen 
some  such  nurses  during  our  professional  life.  It  may 
be  that  the  food  of  the  mother  is  not  well  prepared ; 
the  meats  are  tough,  the  bread  heavy,  the  toast  burned, 
and  the  butter  rancid.  Who  would  not  have  indigestion 
under  such  circumstances  ?  We  repeat,  find  out  the 
cause  of  the  indigestion,  and  remove  it,  rather  than 
cover  up  the  trouble  for  the  time  being  by  drugging  the 
nerves  of  the  stomach  with  ale  or  whisky.  If  a  local 
stimulant  be  needed,  which  will  rarely  happen  if  the 
foregoing  directions  be  attended  to,  half  a  teaspoonful 
of  Brown’s  essence  of  ginger  is  far  better  than  a  glass 
of  ale,  though  nursing  mothers  who  have  been  accus¬ 
tomed  to  use  ale  will  probably  insist  that  the  ale  is  best, 
for  reasons  which  I  will  not  specify.  A  good  lady  some 
time  since  asked  me  if  I  thought  it  likely  that  the 
drinking  of  ale  or  milk-punch  by  a  nursing  mother 
would  affect  the  child.  “  Of  course,  madam,  I  replied. 
“  But  why  did  you  ask  the  question  ?”  This  wa„  her 
answer  :  “  Why,  all  the  while  my  daughter  followed  the 
prescription  of  her  doctor  and  drank  milk-punch,  we 
could  scarcely  keep  the  little  one  awake,  even  while 
dressing  it.  It  slept  nearly  all  the  time,  day  and  night.” 


CONCLUSION. 


405 


any  age  or  part  of  the  world.  You  see  men  all  around 
you  hurrying  to  ruin  through  the  use  of  alcoholic  poi¬ 
sons.  You  know  from  observation  that  in  the  case  of 
such  you  have  nothing  to  hope  for  until  their  resolves 
to  live  a  better  life,  formed  many  times  and  broken  as 
often,  shall  take  the  form  of  a  specific  solemn  pledge  to 
abstain  entirely  hereafter  from  the  use  of  strong  drinks, 
and  until  that  pledge  be  recorded  in  the  presence  of  their 
fellow-citizens,  so  that  they  shall  feel  themselves  com¬ 
mitted  to  the  right  side  in  this  great  conflict,  a  point  of 
immense  importance.  You  certainly  know  that  men 
who  attempt  to  break  the  strong  cords  ot  artificial  appe¬ 
tite  and  habit  need  social,  moral,  and  often  physical 
helps,  which  they  are  not  likely  to  find  except  in  a  so¬ 
ciety  organized  especially  to  afford  them.  Churches  do 
not  undertake  the  business  of  general  education.  That 
work  is  assigned  to  schools,  academies,  and  colleges. 
Banks  do  not  often  engage  in  the  business  of  insurance, 
or  insurance  companies  in  building  railroads,  or  railroad 
companies  in  spinning  cotton.  Special  organizations 
are  needed  to  accomplish  important  and  special  results. 

Train  up  the  young  in  Sabbath  Schools,  and  without 
temperance  societies  to  guard  them  as  they  advance  in 
years,  against  the  influence  of  social  drinking,  thousands 
who  at  twelve  sing  the  sweet  Sabbath  School  hymns  will 
at  twenty  join  in  the  ribald  songs  of  the  bar-room  or  the 
social  drinking  party. 

There  are  just  as  many  ways  to  prevent  it  as  there  are 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  small  pox.  One.  No  more. 
Neither  in  His  Word  or  His  Providence  has  God  ever 
revealed  more  than  one  certain  preventive  of  drunken- 


406 


CONCLUSION. 


ness — that  is  the  pledge  and  practice  of  total  abstinence 
from  all  intoxicating  liquors. 

Neither  Noah  or  Lot  where  pledged  to  abstinence  or 
practiced  it.  They  both  sinned  and  suffered  through 
drink. 

% 

The  Nazarites  and  Rechabites  were  pledged  and  prac¬ 
ticed  abstinence,  and  they  were  safe.  The  Corinthian 
Christians  were  not  pledged  to  abstinence,  nor  did  they 
practice  it.  Some  of  them  fell  into  sin  through  drink. 

The  church  in  this  country  for  the  first  quarter  of  the 
present  century  was  not  pledged  to  nor  did  it  practice 
abstinence.  And  it  was  almost  decimated  in  its  male 
membership  by  this  scourge  and  curse  of  the  earth. 
The  church  now  is  safe  from  this  destroyer  so  far  as  it  is 
pledged  to  and  practices  abstinence — not  a  step  farther. 
That  the  practice  of  abstinence  will  not  generally  pre¬ 
vail  where  men  are  not  pledged  to  it  all  history  shows. 
That  there  will  be  no  general  system  of  pledging  without 
the  existence  of  special  organizations  to  promote  that 
end,  reader,  you  know.  The  matter  may  therefore  be 
summed  up  thus  :  Without  organizations,  having  a  mem¬ 
bership  pledged  to  abstinence,  no  considerable  check  can 
be  put  to  the  terrible  evil  of  intemperance.  With  the 
use  of  those  means,  blessed  of  God  in  all  ages,  we  can 
check  it.  Do  not  these  facts  settle  the  question  of  per¬ 
sonal  duty  ?  What  remains  now  but  for  you  and  such 
of  your  fellow-citizens  as  you  can  induce  to  join  with 
you,  to  set  up  a  standard  in  your  community  at  once 
against  the  common  enemy  ?  Lamentations  over  the 
evil,  however  sincere,  or  half-hearted  resolutions  to  do 
something  in  some  way ,  at  some  future  time,  will  avail 
naught.  Prayers  to  God  for  help  will  avail  naught,  un - 


I 


DATE  DUE 


M'*r  i 

<k<V  1  f  i  ^ 

■i-'v-'  fi- 

• 

OCT 

/jij  * 

♦ 

GAYLORD 

PRINTED  INU.S  A. 

3  9031 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


01642448  3 


HV  Jewett. 

5291 

•J5 


Bapst  Library 

Boston  College 
Chestnut  Hill,  Mass.  02167 


